Raelee
by TheMaskedArtist
Summary: What is Dallas Winston had a sister? What if something happened to her? This is her story. COMPLETED on 4/10/10
1. The Crime

(A/N: Alright, this is set before the book. About four or five months before, just after Johnny is beat up by the Socs. Ponyboy is still 13 and everyone else is their ages in the book.

A/Nx2: I've edited this first chapter. I think it's better now!! To me, Rae is tough but it seemed that she was taking the rape too well. So, I changed a lot of it. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Raelee Angela Winston is mine. Carrie, who appears later is mine. Everything else belongs to S.E. Hinton.)

**Chapter 1**

Raelee Winston, 15, stood outside of her house, holding a backpack in her right hand. It was dark, after midnight, and cold at the end of September. There was a mild breeze every few minutes. She wore a no-sleeved shirt under a thin, long-sleeved, oversized men's shirt that belonged to her older brother, a pair of dark blue jeans, and black All Stars. Her collar-bone length red-brown hair blew in the wind and her brown eyes held a cold expression.

After a few long minutes of staring at the house, she slung the bag onto her shoulder and turned her back on the house. This was the hardest thing she'd ever done. All of the rumbles she'd been in were nothing compared to this. Running away. She had a lot of great friends, who were all boys, and a brother who kept her safe…most of the time. As a matter of fact, Rae had come to know all of her friends through her brother, Dallas, or Dally. She loved them all, especially her brother, and she knew he loved her even though he usually didn't show it. That was what made it so hard. She didn't want them to worry, but she couldn't stay any longer. Raelee started to walk away. She had only taken a few steps before the front door creaked open.

"Where you goin' little girl?" the voice of her drunken father pierced the silence of the night. _This_ was precisely why she couldn't stay there. Rae scowled, but kept walking. She heard him stumble down the front steps. "Come 'ere."

"No," she simply said. His pace quickened behind her. She started to tremble, and not from the wind. She was terrified of her father. In his drunken state, he was more likely to do something to her that would put him in jail. She had a feeling, though, a bad feeling. This night would be different from all of the other countless beatings. Rae wanted to quicken her pace, but her body wouldn't let her.

"Stop," he growled. His voice was closer. He was taking large steps to reach her. She tried to urge her feet to go faster but they stopped completely. Suddenly, he grasped her shoulder and dug his fingernails into her skin, through the long-sleeved shirt, which made her wince. "Do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it." He threw his beer bottle to the ground. It shattered. The pieces flew everywhere. He pushed her to the ground, in the grass, stripping the backpack from her shoulder. He threw it off to the side. Then, he advanced on her. Rae tried to quickly scramble to her backpack, which had her blue handled switchblade, with her name engraved on the blade. She had almost gotten there when her father grabbed her ankle. Desperately, she tried to get away from him again. After that, she felt a sharp pain in her head and everything was blurry, or completely black. Rae went in and out of consciousness. She heard a ripping sound and was suddenly very cold. The next thing she remembered was repeated pains in her lower abdomen. She also felt hands touching her body in indecent ways. She thought she heard him mumble things like "accident child" and "was born purely for his pleasure." This was precisely why she wanted to leave, but he'd never done anything to this extent. Suddenly, it all stopped. No one was hurting her. No one was touching her. But, she was too scared to open her eyes. She heard feet moving around a lot and other noises. Someone was beating the shit out of someone else. Someone fell to the ground, then scrambled away. Someone grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. She cried out and started fighting him, trying to keep him away.

"Hey, stop!" a familiar voice said. Rae stopped squirming and opened her eyes to see Dally's face. He was the one who was holding her. Darrel, or Darry Curtis, stood not far behind her brother, looking around. She was trembling still, but she couldn't tell is it was because she was cold, scared, or both. Tears started spilling out of her eyes.

"D…Dally?" Rae whispered. He had an ever-so-rare worried expression on his face. She didn't even need to ask what had happened to her; she already knew. Dally tore his jacket off of himself and laid it over his sister's body.

"Yeah. Don't worry, Rae. He's gone," her older brother said, gently. He wiped her tears away and grabbed her hand. "Good lord, you're shaking like a mad man!"

"He…he…scared me," Rae stuttered. He leaned over instantly and hugged her tightly.

"I know," he whispered, cursing his father in his head. Darry looked down at the two. He didn't want to break them up but it was cold, Rae didn't have any clothes on, and that insane father or theirs would be back at any time.

"Come on, guys. We should go. I'll take her tonight if you need me to, Dal," he said. Dally separated from his sister and nodded.

"Thanks, man," Dallas said. He looked back down at his sister. "But, let's get you some clothes first. It's freezing out here."

"I'll wait out here," Darry said, "and make sure that he doesn't come back for second helpings."

"Right. Thanks, Darry," Dally said and easily lifted his sister off of the ground. Then, he carried her into the house and all the way to her room. He set her down on her bed. "Grab some clothes for the next few days, and do it quickly." He went looking for her backpack, but had no luck finding it. "Where's your backpack?" Rae started to grab some clothes to put on. She looked down as she did so.

"It's outside, in the dirt," she replied. She put her underwear on and set her brother's coat on the bed. He looked at her, confused. "As for clothes, they're in that bag, as well as my blade." She slipped some jeans on and then a long sleeved shirt. Her father hadn't bothered to remove her shoes. Rae slipped on her own jean jacket. It looked exactly like Johnny's.

"What were you goin' to do, Rae?" Dally asked her. "What were you doin' out there at this hour?" She looked at him with regret in her eyes. He walked up to her. "What is it?"

"I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway, Dally," she answered. "I was going to run away, but I wouldn't have been able to leave you and the guys." She sobbed and latched on to his shirt. She buried her face in it and cried. She shouldn't have cried in front of Dally. He didn't like it. Usually, he'd tell her to 'Stop, right now and be a man.' Even though she wasn't a man. "I'm sorry." Dally was shocked for a few seconds, but didn't show it. He'd never seen his sister cry like this. He stood there and let her cry. After what she'd been through tonight, he didn't blame her.

"Don't you dare apologize! You don't have anything to apologize for, damnit!" he yelled, shaking her by the shoulders.

"But if I hadn't have provoked it, none of this would have happened!" she sobbed, pulling away from him.

"No! It's my fault! I'm sorry for not taking better care of you. I'm sorry for not protecting you more. I knew better than to leave you home alone with him," Dally said, pulling his sister back to him.

"Hurry up in there!" Darry called from outside. "We don't have all night."

"Right!" Dally called back. He put a hand on top of Rae's head. "We gotta get outta here." Rae looked up at her older brother. She was surprised he didn't order her to be strong or whatever. She nodded. He wiped her tears away and led her outside, where she collected her bag. Then, all three headed down to Darry's house.

When they got to the house, both boys helped her inside. Dally sat her down on the couch while Darry forced his younger brothers to the back of the house.

"I'm going to let Darry take care of you tonight for now. I have to go somewhere," he said. She nodded, staring down at the ground, in a daze. "You'll be alright, don't worry. I'll be back in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah," Rae said, in a low voice. "I love you." He turned to her and flashed grin. She knew that was his way to say, 'You too.' Dally stood up from the couch and went out the front door. Darry came back into the room moments later, carrying a blanket and a pillow. She didn't look up at him, she just kept staring at the floor. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. Darry stared at her for a few seconds.

"Don't worry. You will be." She nodded. The two younger Curtis brothers came back into the room.

"Hey, Rae," Sodapop Curtis said. "Haven't seen you in a while. What's up?" She didn't answer.

"What happened? Are you alright?" the youngest, Ponyboy, asked. She didn't answer again. The two boys looked at each other.

"Rae?" Soda asked.

"Sorry," she replied.

"Okay, that's enough. Why don't you two go to bed? We'll talk in the morning," Darry suggested. The two looked at their older brother and nodded.

"Right, then. Goodnight," Soda said and dragged Ponyboy out of the room with him. Darry set the bed clothes on the couch.

"If you need anything at all, come and wake me up, okay?" She nodded. "Goodnight, Rae."

"Goodnight…" He left the room for his own room. After a few minutes of staring blankly, Rae made her bed on the couch. She laid down and turned off the lamp. She must've been really tired because she was out almost instantly.


	2. The Morning After

(A/n: Thanks for the reviews, guys I appreciate 'em!)

**Chapter 2**

"Rise and shine!" Two-Bit's voice said. Raelee mumbled something, quietly, about leaving her alone, and rolled over. "Oh, come on, Rae." She sighed and rolled back over with her eyes open, to see Two-Bit's smiling face looking down at her. She squinted.

"Your smile is too bright. Turn it down," Rae said.

"Very funny," Two-Bit said, with the same smile.

"What time is it, anyway?" she asked, groggily.

"It's nine! Time to get up!" he exclaimed. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, off the couch. Her body was really sore from the night before.

"Lay off, would ya?" Rae asked him. He let go of her as Steve walked into the room.

"Morning, Kiddo," Steve said to her as he shoved some food in his mouth.

"Hey," she said, unemotionally. Steve and Two-Bit looked at each other. She wasn't as spirited as she usually was. In the morning, she usually bounced off the walls. Darry walked into the front room from the hall, wearing a black shirt and some jeans.

"Oh, good. You're here," he said to Two-Bit and Steve. The front door slammed shut. Johnny stood there, in the doorway. "Hey Johnny." He nodded. Johnny Cade. He was 16, but he had unfortunately been beaten up by a few Socs just a week ago. He was still bruised and cut up. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain he was feeling. He used to be hard before the fight; never crying, tough and tuff. The had been, no doubt, because of his parents' constant beating and screaming. But now, Johnny was a wreck. Easy to cry, always doing what everyone said to, and all around unstable.

"It's your turn in the shower, Rae," Sodapop said, stepping out of the bathroom, only wearing pants. She nodded and went to the bathroom, carrying her backpack along. While she was busy doing that, Darry called all of the boys to the front room. He had them all sit down.

"Take it easy on Rae for a little while," Darry ordered his friends. They all looked at him, confused.

"What happened to her?" Steve asked. Darry seemed very reluctant to tell, but knew he had to.

"She was raped lady night. By her father." There was a stunned silence through out the room. "We found them in the grass, in front of their house. He'd knocked her out." Two-Bit regretted waking her up, now. He'd grabbed her by the arm and forced her up. He sighed. Soda's expression became very angry.

"That son-of-a-bitch," he said. Darry looked at his younger brother, but didn't say anything because he felt the same way.

"Anyway, that's all. Just don't get on her case for a while," Darry finished.

"What about the rumble in a couple of weeks?" Two-Bit asked.

"Maybe she shouldn't go," Steve said. He looked around at all of his friends. Darry shrugged.

"I don't think she should, but it's really something she and Dally should talk over," Darry answered. Before anyone could say anything else, the bathroom door opened and Raelee emerged, brushing her wet hair. She was wearing a white, tight-fitting t-shirt, jeans, and socks. Everyone looked at her. She looked back at them.

"What?" she asked them. They all shrugged in unison and looked away. She was confused for a moment, but shrugged as well and sat down in the middle of Ponyboy and Johnny, on the couch.

"Anyone want a real breakfast?" The word 'real' was more directed to Steve and Two-Bit who both always came in the morning to eat the cakes Darry and Soda baked. Two-Bit also usually had a beer with his morning cake. They both snickered.

"I'll take some, and Johnny too," Ponyboy said.

"Me too," Soda said. "Steve and Two-Bit'll take some too. You know them." Rae stayed silent.

"What about you, Rae?" Darry asked. She shook her head.

"Not really hungry, but thanks," she replied He stared at her with a frown.

"Alright, but if you do get hungry, tell me," Darry said. "Dally won't be happy if he finds out you didn't eat." He retreated into the kitchen. Everyone else was silent for a few minutes.

"Why aren't you watchin' Mickey, Two-Bit?" Rae asked. He shrugged. After hearing what happened to one of his good friends, he wasn't in the mood for Mickey. He'd cared for Raelee as a sister. They all had. She was tough, but when she needed help, they'd always help her. But this time..

"You can turn it on if you wanna, Rae," he said to her. She shrugged and sat quietly between Pony and Johnny. Soda and Steve got into an engaging conversation. A while later, Darry called them in to eat. The living room company, with the exception of Rae, all got up and piled into the small dining room. As soon as they left the room, Rae put her All Stars on and went outside, making sure the door didn't slam. It was cold, but then again, she didn't have her jacket on. She sat down on the top step and stared at nothing in particular. She just stared as if she was spaced out. She didn't know how long she sat there, like that. Someone gently touched her shoulder. Rae turned her upper body around to see Two-Bit standing behind her. "Mind if I join you?"

"No, go ahead," she answered. He sat down next to her. Rae hugged her knees to her chest.

"We all know what happened to you, Rae," Two-Bit said, sadly. "I just want you to know that it'll be alright, okay?" She shrugged, but stayed in the same position. He sighed. "I want to kill that bastard. I can't believe anyone is so disgusting. You're such a great person and one of my best friends. I wish we could've protected you better."

"Don't worry about it," Rae said. "Nobody could have stopped it. It was my fault. I was goin' to run away. I bet no one told ya that, did they?" Two-Bit shook his head. "Yeah, then he caught me outside. Anyway, what's happened has happened. You can't change it." He nodded, in total agreement.

"You're right. But if you need a place to stay, you come on over. My couch is always open to you. We're going to make sure you never go back to that house." For the first time in a long while, Raelee managed to smile.

"Thanks, Two-Bit. You all have been so kind to me ever since we came here from New York. I'm just a burden to you."

"Not at all, Raelee!" Two-Bit exclaimed. "We don't do it because Dally's bust our heads open, we do it because we care about you." He put an arm around her shoulders. "You don't need to worry about such things. You're good with us." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Almost instantly, she had her arms around his neck, in a hug.

"Thank you."

"No problem, kid. That's what I'm here for," Two-Bit said, with a smile. When she let go of him, he noticed that she was smiling too. "Come on. It's chilly out here. Let's go inside." He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her up. They were about to step inside when someone walked up behind them.

"Rae? Two-Bit?" Dally asked. The other two turned around.

"Oh, hey, Dally," Two-Bit said. "We were just going back inside. Come on." Dally followed him and Rae inside, into the front room, where everyone was sitting again. They all looked up when the three walked in. "Look who we found."

"Hey, Dally," Ponyboy said. Dally nodded. He turned to Darry.

"Can I talk to ya in the kitchen?" he asked.

"Sure," Darry said, and got up from the armchair he was sitting in. He led Dally into the kitchen. "What is it?"

"How's she doin'?" Dally asked. Darry shrugged.

"She wouldn't have breakfast, and she sat outside while we ate. Two-Bit went out and talked to her though." Dally cursed, This was how it would be for a while, he knew his younger sister. He wanted to kill that bastard of a father for what he had done to his little sister.

"Alright. Well, I'll see if I can get her to eat something at the Dingo later today. I'm going to ask Two-Bit to take her for a while. I know you got your own troubles to worry about," Dally said. Darry nodded.

"Yeah, okay," he replied. "I'll take Rae around noon, then drop her off here. Two-Bit can take her after that." He walked back into the front room to find Steve and Soda in the middle of an arm wrestle. Pony and Johnny were watching. Two-Bit and Rae were both sitting on the floor. They were talking quietly and playing cards. Dally watched his sister smile. Two-Bit was good at making people smile, no matter how upset they were. He walked over to them.

"Yeah and then- Oh, hey, Dally," Two-Bit said. Rae looked up at her brother, who was standing over her.

"Could ya take her tonight?" Dally asked his friend.

"Absolutely! We'll have a party!" Two-Bit exclaimed. Raelee gave off a quiet giggle. "I'll take her as long as my mom lets me."

"Thanks, man. I just think that Darry's got enough on his mind right now."

"Yeah, okay." Two-Bit agreed.


	3. The Skating Rink Incident

(A/N: Heya Thanks to all of my reviewers! Ah! For all the hardcore Outsiders fans: Anyone know where I can get a copy of the soundtrack for NOT so much? Cuz, it's all like not made anymore and expensive.)

(A/N x 2: Oh, yeah. Just so you know, Two-Bit/Rae or Ponyboy/Rae won't appear in this. They're just real close friends. Now, I'm not saying Curly/Rae won't turn up. Ha. Ok, ok. Story time.)

**Chapter 3**

Dally dropped Raelee off in front of the Curtis house. He hadn't gotten her to eat much at the Dingo, but at least she'd eaten some.

"Alright. I'll see you in a few days, Rae," Dally said as she got out of his car. Well, it wasn't really his car. It was Buck's. Rae didn't looked pleased with her older brother, but she nodded. He drove off. She turned to go up the front steps but Two-Bit was standing on the top step, holding her backpack.

"We're going to drop your stuff at my place and then go do something fun," he said, slinging the bag onto his shoulder. He walked down the steps and started walking. Rae followed close behind him.

"I can carry my own bag," she said, trying to grab it away from him.

"Nope," he simply said, and switched it to the other shoulder. He was trying to be a gentleman, for once. Rae sighed. She didn't like to be treated as a girl. She liked to be treated as an equal.

The rest of the walk was uneventful. When they reached Two-Bit's house, Rae grabbed her switchblade out of the front pocket of her backpack and flung it on the old couch, in his large room.

"Why is your room so big, Two-Bit?" Rae asked as she watched him grab some money.

"My mom didn't need such a big room when my dad ran out, so she gave it to me. Then, my mom wanted a new couch, even though we couldn't really afford it. She said it didn't look good. Anyway, that's how that got in here. Shit, even with a couch and a large bed in here, I still can't seem to fill it," he answered her.

"Even with all the stuff you steal?" Rae asked. She followed him out of his room and out the front door.

"Yeah, that too," he said, with a laugh, as they went outside. "Now, where do you want to go?" Raelee thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"I don't know." Then, she had an awesome idea. "How about the skating rink?" she suggested. "We haven't been there in a while."

"You sure? There'll be a lot of Socs there," Two-Bit reminded her.

"Let's go. We'll call up the gang. I'm sure they'll want to join us. That way, we won't be alone. Why don't we called Curly up, too? I'm sure he'd be thrilled," she said. Two-Bit agreed with her. They ran back inside to the phone. They called up the Curtis's house. Steve and Johnny were already there, so they didn't have to ask them. Rae also dialed up Curly Shepard. She and Curly were good friends. Just like Dally and Tim, except that they didn't fight so much. She didn't know Tim as well, and Tim had no idea who she was, for all she knew. He'd probably seen her a few times, but it never really registered that she was Dally's sister. Anyway, it turned out that Curly couldn't make it because he had just been in a fight and was sleeping it off.

After everyone had been summoned, Rae and Two-Bit left and drove to the rink in his car. When they reached the skating rink, they paid to get in, rented skates, and waited for everyone to get there. A few Socs kept staring at them, but didn't do anything. Rae stayed close to Two-Bit. They went out and skated a bit, holding hands. If one went down before they got used to the floor, so would the other. After a few minutes of fumbling around the floor, they let go of each other. It was obvious to anyone who was watching that Rae was the better skater, seeing as how she started skating beautifully while Two-Bit was still having a hard time.

"I guess we'll skate at the edges, then," Raelee said, watching Two-Bit. She turned back around and saw a poster on the far wall. When they reached it, she made her older friend stop. He almost fell over. "Roller skating competition?"

"First prize is $100," Two-Bit read, at the bottom. "It's in a couple of months, though." Rae shrugged.

"It'd be cool, but no one would do it with me. Well, Pony might. He likes skating right?" she asked. She never got an answer, and totally forgot about it, anyway, when she heard Two-Bit's next remark.

"Speak of the devil," he said, looking towards the entrance door. There stood the rest of their gang, minus Dally, who had 'business' to attend to, yet again. Rae's eyes lit up, and she almost smiled when she saw them, grabbed Two-Bit's wrist and pulled him off the floor. They stopped directly in front of the others.

"Come on, get your skates on!" Rae exclaimed. She turned to go back onto the floor, Two-Bit in tow. But before she could take two steps, she bumped into a Soc, who was on skates as well. They both fell on the ground, hard. Instantly, Steve grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. "Thanks." With the help of his friend, the Soc, who turned out to be Bob Sheldon, was also on his feet. Well, skates. Another boy stood behind him with curly black hair. There were also two girls, who were in their own conversation. One had long red hair, and the other, short dark hair.

"You okay, man?" the boy with the black curly hair asked. Bob looked angry and annoyed.

"No, I'm not Randy. I just got knocked down by a greaser!" he half yelled. He was throwing a fit. "Maybe we should teach her a lesson." All of her friends started crowding around her, to show that they were with her. The boy called Randy looked at Rae, then whispered something in his friend's ear. Bob smirked. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said more calmly. With that, the two boys shoved Steve and Rae out of their way, almost making Rae fall again, and left. The two girls followed then, continuing their conversation and not paying any attention to the 'greasers.' The gang glared after them, then finally when to go put their skates on. Rae sat next to Ponyboy, waiting for all of them. She looked around at all the people. Some were still watching her and her friends.

"How ya doin', Rae?" Ponyboy asked.

"Alright, I guess," she replied as he bent down to lace and tie his skated. "It's definitely better when I'm with you guys." He stood up and balanced for a few seconds, then offered her his hand.

"May I have this skate?" Pony asked. Rae smiled and took his hand. He may be younger, but he sure was sweet. He easily pulled her to her feet and left her out onto the skate floor. They stayed hand-in-hand the whole time. When they'd pass the rest of their friends, who were watching them, they'd grin and wave.

"They're so embarrassing," Rae pointed out after waving back to them for the however many-th time. Ponyboy laughed and nodded.

"No kidding," he agreed. "You know, Rae, you're good at this." He was talking about her skating ability.

"Thanks, man," she said. Pony's smile then started to slowly fade.

"Why did it happen?" he asked. Rae sighed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He may have only been a couple of years younger than her, at 13, but he still seemed so young. He wasn't physically young, so to speak. He was tough, he smoked, got into fights, and cursed. It was his mind. His mind hadn't matured all they way yet.

"I don't really know how to tell you, Pony," she started. "Sometimes men can't help themselves, especially when they're drunk. You'll learn when you get older, I guess," she explained. The song that they were skating to ended and they rejoined the others for food, without another word.

The rest of the night, they all had a good time. It was around nine of ten before they decided to leave. During that time, Steve and Sodapop decided they wanted a skate with Rae. She had willingly agreed. By this time, they had nearly forgotten about the incident earlier in the evening, with the Socs.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Two-Bit said as he led Rae back to his car.

"Bye, you two!" Soda yelled across the parking lot. Rae merely waved at everyone, then hopped into the car. Two-bit jumped in the driver's side and they drove back to his house. The journey was quiet. And Rae was tired. She imagined Two-Bit was as well.

"Looks like my mom isn't home yet. My little sister is over at a friend's house for a while," he said when they reached the house. All of the lights were off. They both got out of the car and went inside. Rae trudged back to Two-Bit's room and literally fell on his couch.

"Don't you want a pillow and blanket, kid?" he asked. No answer. "Heh." He went into his closet and grabbed a blanket. He covered her with it and put a pillow, from his bed, under her head. Quickly and quietly, he changed. He dropped into his own bed, turned off the lamp, and was out like a light as well.


	4. Back to the House of Horrors

**Chapter 4**

When Rae opened her eyes, the room was bright. She looked up to the window, which was next to the couch. The light made her squint. She sat up and looked over to Two-Bit's bed. He was laying there, half covered-up, but asleep. Rae already thought he was cute, but now he seemed even cuter. She didn't like him that _that_. They were just really good friends. She uncovered herself and stood up. She grabbed her jean jacket and left his room to go outside. Raelee tip-toed down the hallway, as to not disturb Two-Bit's mother. She opened the front door and went outside. As usual, she sat on the top step. It was still early morning, she could see her breath puffing out of her mouth in little white puffs. She sat there for at least twenty minutes before the front door opened behind her. Rae turned to find Two-Bit standing there. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt, which was what he fell asleep in.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked her. "It's freezing this morning."

"Good observation," she said. "I'm just a little cold. Then again, I'm wearing pants and a jacket." He had to give her that one. She stood up and went back inside with her friend.

"By the way, Rae, we have to start getting ready. It's Monday- a school day," Two-Bit reminded her. Oh right. _School_. She sighed and they started back to his room.

"What time is it?" Rae asked him. He glanced up at the clock as they passed the kitchen.

"We should start heading out soon." She nodded. He opened the door to his bedroom and went it, followed by Rae. She grabbed her backpack and headed towards the bathroom ro change.

When she came out, she was wearing a blue t-shirt, which fit around her body just right, another pair of dark-wash jeans, and of course, her black All Stars. She carried her jacket and backpack back to Two-Bit's room. He was now dressed in a plain white t-shirt, his jeans, cowboy boots, and leather jacket. Rae dropped her bag on his couch and slipped her jacket on. Then she remembered.

"Oh, shit!" she cursed, turning to Two-Bit. He turned to her, confused.

"My school books are at my house," she replied to his un-asked question.

"Oh. That's not good."

"Maybe if you come with me, it'll be okay," Rae said. He opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. "Come on, Keith! I really need them." Keith? _Keith!_ No one ever used his real name unless they really needed something from him. And that wasn't very often. He sighed.

"Alright, but Dally will kill me if he found out," Two-Bit said.

"He won't find out," Raelee assured him. She glanced at the clock, hanging on his wall. "We'd better run." They both took off running down the hall and out the front door. On the way to Rae's house, they had to stop twice, for breath. When they finally got there, they stopped in front of the dirt driveway. Two-Bit started walking slowly, and alert. Rae stood still. She was thinking that this might've been a bad idea. When he was a few feet away, he turned back to her.

"Come on. We have to go." She nodded and started walking slowly, next to him. They passed a large patch of grass where the dirt had been disturbed. Two-Bit noticed it, but didn't say anything, for once. He looked at Rae. Her eyes told him that she was terrified to be there. But, she kept the outside calm. He took her hand. "It's okay. I'm here." She took a few long breaths and made her way to the front door. As she went up the steps, she held his hand tighter. He followed close behind. They'd finally gotten to her room with no incident. Rae quickly grabbed the school books sitting on the floor, next to her bed. She also grabbed a duffle bag from under the bed and piled more clothes into it."

"I'll just stick it in my locker, no big deal," she whispered to herself. She started to go out of the room but was caught, by the wrist, by her friend. She looked back at him, confused. His face was hard and serious. He nodded his head toward the door. Rae looked over and saw her father standing in the doorway.

"Where the hell have you been, Rae?" he asked. Her father was, for once, not drunk. But he was angry, and that's all he needed. She could tell.

"Don't talk to her, scum!" Two-Bit growled at him. He sighed.

"This is Dallas's fault, isn't it? He got you hooked up with these good-for-nothing boys and now you've turned against your family," her father said. All Rae could do, surprisingly, was laugh. And so she did.

"Turned against my family? What family? You're not my family. I can't believe you have the audacity to call yourself my father after what you did to me." She let out a laugh that was half a sob. "You're sick! You know that!" Rae was yelling now. "And as for these 'good-for-nothing' boys, they've been more family than you have ever been!" she screamed, and had tears rolling down her cheeks now.

"You bastard," Two-Bit mumbled, as calmly as he could. He brought out his prized, black-handled switchblade. In a second, it was open, and he held it up at the older man. He quickly pushed the sobbing Rae all the way outside before he put the knife back into his pocket. Rae got away from his grasp and ran to the end of the driveway. He ran after her. She dropped her books and bag and collapsed to her knees, crying loudly. Two-Bit reached her quickly, and dropped to the ground as well. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, not letting go. "It's okay, now, Rae," he said, trying to keep his own composure. Listening to her sobs, he wanted to cry- it hurt him so much. "Maybe we shouldn't go to school today." He kept holding her tight and let her cry as much as she needed. She had obviously not had a good cry about it, yet. Before long, Two-Bit heard fast footsteps and looked up. Steve and Soda, who had decided to walk to work, apparently, were running towards them.

"Oh my god," Soda said when he saw Rae. He dropped down to his knees too, but Steve stayed standing, but bent over. "Are you guys okay?" Two-Bit nodded. He told them the story over Raelee's crying. After a while, Rae finally stopped and let go of Two-Bit, who was reluctant to give her up. Sodapop hugged her tightly and Steve joined in too.

"It's alright, now, Rae. We're here," Steve said, softly. She wiped her tears from her face and smiled as best she could.

"I know."

"Go on to my house, you two. Take a day off," Soda offered before he and Steve took off for work. They were already late. Rae thanked them, with a weak smile. They aid their hurried good-byes and went off. Two-Bit and Rae slowly made their way to the Curtis house. When they got there, Tim Shepard was sitting in the armchair, reading the newspaper. Rae was surprised to see him so far out of his own turf. He looked up when the door slammed behind Two-Bit.

"Hey, Tim," Two-Bit said, walking out from behind Raelee.

"Ain't you two supposed to be in school or something?" he asked. Rae shrugged. He looked at her, curiously. Her eyes were still a little puffy and her nose red. He could tell she'd recently been crying. Two-Bit stated that he needed to use the bathroom and went off down the hall. She sat down on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Are you the one Dally's been obsessin' over the past two days?" he asked. She directed her eyes toward him. "Your father; he-"

"Yeah," Rae said, cutting Tim off.

"How you doin'?" he asked. She let go of her legs and let them fall to the floor.

"I'm alright, but, it's so unlike you to be askin', Tim, isn't it?" she answered. He shrugged.

"We're all greasers," he said. "We all gotta stick together. We don't have many people outside our gangs. We just gotta stay close to each other." Rae nodded. "you may be from a different outfit then me, but we're all greasers- and friends. Plus you're Dally's little sister and Curly's best friend. So, yeah." Rae looked surprised. She didn't know he'd actually ever noticed her before. She tried to smile.

"You're right," she agreed. "Thanks for worryin', Tim."

"No problem, kid," he said, standing up.

"You can just call me Rae," Rae said. He walked over to her and held out his hand.

"You're alright, Rae," he said. She took his hand and shook it. "See ya around." Rae nodded and watched him walk out the door. Two-Bit came back in just as Tim gently closed the door.

"Tim gone?" She nodded. He shrugged and sat down next to her. He turned on Mickey, took a sip of his beer, and roughed up her hair. She jumped at him, with a smile on her face, but he quickly had her on the floor. He let her up and they both laughed at each other. He roughed up her hair again, but she just took it and watched Mickey.


	5. She Can Cook?

(A/N: If you saw my question about finding a soundtrack, never mind, I found one.)

**Chapter 5**

Ponyboy walked up the steps to his house, with Johnny. He checked the mail, and then walked through the door. The first thing he saw was the TV, which was on. He didn't remember leaving that one this morning. Johnny came in and slammed the door. Rae peeked out from the kitchen.

"Oh, hey guys," she said. Ponyboy went to the kitchen to find his older friend standing over a cutting board. She was cutting some vegetables up.

"What are you doin', Rae?" Pony asked, curiously.

"Cookin' dinner," she replied. "What's it look like?"

"I didn't know you could cook," Johnny said, leaning against the door way. Rae shrugged.

"I took a Home Economics class in Junior High. I can cook a little," she said.

"What are ya makin'?" Ponyboy asked, taking a piece of carrot from the cutting board and popped it into his mouth.

"Beef Stew. Hope you like it," she replied. Pony and Johnny watched her dump the browned beef into a large pot, then the vegetables and covered it.

"Rae!" Two-Bit's voice yelled, through the front screen door. She looked at her two other friends, and then hurried to the door. Two-bit stood there, supporting Tim Shepard. Tim's arm was around Two-Bit's shoulders. His face was bloodied. He had a nose bleed, a cut on his eyebrow, and a cut on his shin that left a hole in his jeans. The shin cut ws bleeding all over his shoes.

"Holy shit!" Rae exclaimed and opened the door. "What happened!" She helped Two-Bit bring Tim in and set him down on the couch.

"Found him in the lot. Got roughed up a bit, obviously. He put up a pretty good fight, though. He would've won had he not got this cut on his eyebrow. Those things bleed like hell, and you can't see with blood in your eyes," Two-Bit explained. "Socs did it."

"They need to stay in their own turf," Johnny commented, remembering what had happened to him. Ponyboy ran into the front room with a dish rag and handed it to Rae. She pressed it against Tim's forehead.

"Bring another dish rage and a napkin, would ya?" she asked. Ponyboy immediately obeyed her and left the room. He brought back what she had asked for. Raelee threw the other rag and Two-Bit, for Tim's shin. She tore the napkin in two and stuffed it up his nose, then went back to his eyebrow. He opened his okay eye.

"Hey, kid," he said.

"I told you to call me Rae," she said, without changing her serious expression.

"Alright. It's done bleeding down here," Two-Bit said. Time took the bloody dish rag from Rae's hand and pressed it to the cut on his face as he sat up.

"Johnny, could you check on the food?" Rae asked. He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Two-Bit went off to find some bandages and Ponyboy went with him.

"Thanks, Rae," Tim said. "Why-"

"Well, you did say we Greasers gotta stick together," she reminded him. He slowly nodded. "Where's Curly at?"

"He said he was goin' out with a few friends." He replied. "Hey, have a seat." Tim moved over to let Rae sit next to him. She did. "You seem much better than this morning." She shrugged.

"It's only fake. I'm not any happier than I was this morning. I just don't want to upset anyone," she said, quietly, so no one else could hear. When Two-Bit and Pony came back, she brightened up again. "Why don't you stay for dinner, Tim? I made plenty." He watched her for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"Why not?" He let himself smile, something he rarely ever did. It wasn't much of a smile, more like an evil smile, if anything. Two-Bit handed a Band-Aid to Rae, who put it over Tim's eyebrow, which wasn't bleeding as bad anymore. Tim took the other one and placed it on his own shin. He took the napkin out of his nose, which had stopped bleeding. When he was all taken care of, Rae went back to the kitchen and relieved Johnny of his stirring duty. She spent another hour in the kitchen.

Rae was setting the table, with the help of Johnny, when Soda and Darry walked through the front door, letting it slam.

"What smells so good?" Soda yelled through the house.

"Dinner smells good!" Rae yelled back. Soda waved at Tim and Two-Bit and went to the small dining room.

"Did you make it, Rae? What is it?" he asked. She smiled.

"Yeah. Beef Stew. Hope you like," she answered, and left Johnny to finish setting the table. Everyone else was sitting in the front room. "It's ready, guys."

"What is 'it', Rae?" Darry asked. She sighed. How many times had they asked her?

"For the last time, Beef Stew. Go on." They all left the room, except for Rae, whose smile disappeared instantly and she went to grab her jacket to sit outside. Darry came back into the room.

"Not eating again?" he asked. She looked up at him, the lowered her face to the ground and shrugged. He sighed. "Rae, you've got to start living again. I know it's only been a couple of days, but you can't let it drag you down. If you do, the long-term damage will be worse. Now, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, so come in and eat," he ordered. She didn't say anything. "Rae, it'll be alright. You're fifteen. You shouldn't have to worry about these things. Let us worry for you." He was trying to be gentle, without whispering, but it still came out in that booming voice. Darry couldn't see her face, she was still looking at the ground. "Rae?" he whispered. He put his fingers under her chin and lifted it up. When he saw her face, she had two streak marks running down her cheeks. "Hey, kiddo. Come on, don't cry." She sniffled.

"I'm sorry, Darry," she said, her voice shaky.

"I wasn't trying to sound mean," he said. "It's not your fault. If we'd gotten you gout of there sooner, it could've been prevented. So, don't you worry about it. We'll make sure you never go back there." He didn't know about what happened earlier. Darry wiped her tears away. "Come here, little sis," he said, trying to cheer her up. She had always idolized Darry, like she did with Dally, and they were all family. With that, he pulled her into a hug. The two didn't know, but the others were peering out from around the corner. They were all smiling, even Tim(but not a very wide smile).

"Thanks, Dar," Rae said as they let go. "I think I'm up for some food." The others hurried back to their seats as the not get caught.

There was no real conversation at dinner. Rae, Tim, and Johnny ate a little bit. The other four ate like horses. She couldn't understand how boys ate that much. Tim spent most of dinner watching Rae. She caught his gaze every once in a while, but didn't keep it for more than a few seconds. They all kept commenting on how good the food was. It finally ended and all the guests started to leave. Tim was first to go.

"Thank you for dinner," he said politely. "See ya'll later." Then, he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. With that, Two-Bit told Rae that they should probably go too. So, they said goodbye. Johnny followed them out the door, then went in his own direction. The night was cold, so the two decided to run. When they got to Two-Bit's house, they found his mother standing on the porch, smoking a cigarette.

"Welcome home Keith" – she was the only one who always called him by his real name- "Hi Raelee. Sleeping over again?" Rae nodded. She liked Two-Bit's mom. She ws the best. Everyone said that's where Two-Bit got his sense of humor from. She smiled and let them go in. It was already pretty late. Rae hadn't felt like bringing her books back, so Ponyboy agreed to bring them for her the next day.

"I'm going to sleep," she declared while taking off her shoes. "I'm gonna get up early to take a shower."

"Can I join ya?" Two-Bit joked, with a grin.

"Very funny," Rae said and smiled as well. She laid down on the couch and faced the back of it. Then, she covered up. Two-bit dropped onto his own bed and propped himself up on one hand.

"Rae?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Never mind."

(A/N x 2: -squeaks- I can't wait til I get the next chapter up. I've already written it, I just won't have the time to type it until tomorrow, probably. Anyway, it involves some action with Curly Shepard. . Yay. C ya!)


	6. Out With Curly

(A/N: Wow . Thanks for the reviews, guys. I honestly didn't think anyone was gunna like it because I haven't gotten very many reviews on my other stories. Anyway…yeah. This is my favorite chapter, so far.)

**Chapter 6**

The next day, Two-Bit and Rae decided they'd go back to school. There wasn't any real incident that happened. Ponyboy brought Rae her books, as promised, before the first class. Then, they both said hurried goodbyes and went to class. She couldn't concentrate on her schoolwork, but that wasn't too unusual. She knew all of the stuff anyway. Lunch was usual; sneaking out in Two-Bit's car with Johnny and Pony, and driving over to the DX where Soda and Steve worked. They had a couple of Pepsis, and then went back to school for afternoon classes. After school, Two-Bit drove home and Rae walked home with Pony and Johnny. They left Johnny at his own house, then continued on to Ponyboy's.

"How was your day, Pony?" Rae asked, politely, after Johnny was gone. He shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. Yours?" he replied.

"It was alright." The rest of the way back to the Curtis house was quiet. The walk felt like it would take forever. But, when they finally got there, they found Dally stretched out on the couch, watching TV and smoking. He looked up when they got through the door.

"Hey, Dal," Rae said, setting her books in the coffee table.

"Hey, kiddos," he said to both of them and put out his cigarette. He took his feet off the couch and looked up at Rae, who was still standing.

"I heard something very interestin' from Tim this mornin'," Dally said, offering his little sister a seat. She decided not to take him up on his offer.

"What would that be?" she asked, even though she already knew what he was talking about.

"Come on, sit down. I won't beat ya up or anythin'," he said. She obeyed her older brother. "Anyway, Tim told me that you and Two-Bit were skippin' school, yesterday."

"I wasn't feelin' to great." He nodded, understanding that. Ponyboy decided that they needed some alone time, so he went to him room to start on his homework.

"He also told me that you looked like you'd been cryin'." He paused for a moment. "You went back, didn't you?" Rae stayed quiet. "Why?" Before she could answer, someone burst through the door. Dally's head shot toward to boy, whose back was facing them. He was out of breath. It took a long moment for Rae to recognize the back of her best friend.

"Curly!" she exclaimed and stood up. She hadn't seen him in a few weeks. Dally grabbed her wrist. She looked back down to her brother.

"We'll talk later," he said, annoyed. He let go, stood up, and walked out of the house. Curly was now facing her. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, jeans, All Star Lo-Tops, and a black leather jacket. He was cuter than Tim, but had a few of the same features. He was muscular, though, and tall. Curly was 15, like Raelee, and put more grease in his hair than she'd ever seen.

"There you are," he said, still out of breath. "Been lookin' for ya."

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked.

"Let's take a walk," he suggested after he caught his breath. Rae nodded. Then, she yelled into the other room, so Ponyboy could hear.

"I'm goin' out with Curly, Pony. Tell Two-Bit I'll be back soon when he gets here!"

"Yeah, okay!" he yelled back. Curly led Rae outside after she grabbed her jean jacket and slipped it on. She walked with him in silence for a few minutes.

"Is this about my father?" she asked, flipping the collar of her jacket up, to keep her neck warm from the cold. "Is that why you ran-"

"Yeah," he answered. She nodded. "I came to see how you were doin'."

"I'm fine, for now. But, it's only been a few days. I don't know what kind of long term damage I'll have, if any," she answered. He nodded.

"I'm just real worried 'bout ya," Curly said, and he sounded really concerned. Rae knew Curly. They'd always gotten along real well together. She knew that he was just as hard as his older brother, and it was really different to hear him like this.

"I-Thanks for worrying," she said. She smiled a little bit and got closer to him. He looked down at her, out of the corner of his eye. He smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. They stopped at the Dingo for a Coke before going back to the Curtis's. While they sat there, he was talking about the fight he was in two days ago. Rae took a good look at his face. Curly had a black eye and a cut on his jaw line. She thought he really looked tuff.

"I'm glad you're okay. Those Brumly boys can be tough," she said. "You haven't told me what you've done this time."

"Actually, I'm not quite sure what I did," he said, truthfully. "They might've grabbed the wrong brother. Tim and I are similar in size, even with our three year age difference." He smiled, evilly. "But I do happen to know of a date involving Tim and a Brumly girl." Rae smiled as well.

"That could do it," she said. He nodded and stared at her for a few seconds. Her eyes met his, but she couldn't break eye contact with him. Without watching was he was doing, Curly slid their cokes out of the way and leaned across the table. Rae watched his amazing blue eyes. They had an interesting look it then. A look she'd never seen before. Her stomach tied in excited knots. His eyes slowly closed, as did hers. Then, he kissed her, full on the lips. It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds before Curly pulled away and sat back down. Rae opened her eyes. He looked at her, a bit of nervousness in his expression.

"Sorry," he said, quickly, and shifted his position, uncomfortably. He looked out the window.

"Sorry for what?" she said. He shifted his eyes back toward her, then his head. She smiled, sheepishly, at him. He let out a long held-in breath, with a short laugh.

"Come on," he said, standing out of his side of the booth. He held out his hand for her to take. Rae's eyes lit up. She took his hand. When she was out of the booth, he returned his arm to her shoulders and she put her arm around his waist. They walked back to the Curtis house together. Ponyboy was sitting on the front porch with Soda, who had gotten home not too long ago, when they got there. They both looked at Curly and Rae when they walked up the steps.

"Hey, Rae. Nice to see ya, Curly," Sodapop said. Curly nodded. Two-Bit walked out the door and saw the two together.

"Oh ho!" Two-But laughed. Soda let off a small laugh, too. Pony just watched. He wasn't interested in girls yet, so he wouldn't understand.

"Well, I'd better go. Tim'll be wonderin' where I ran off to this time," Curly said, taking his arm from around Rae's shoulders. He turned to face her. "I'll be back soon." He leaned in and kissed her again.

"Bye," she said when he pulled away. He waved as he ran off. She watched him until her turned the corner. When she turned back to her other friends, they were all staring at her.

"What!"


	7. Emotions and Blood

**Chapter 7**

Daly never showed again that night. After being made fun of for a while, Two-Bit decided that they should probably leave. His mother had gotten home early and called to tell them that she was making dinner for them. And as it turned out, Two-Bit's mother was a great cook. After dinner, Rae did her homework while Two-bit talked and talked. She just blocked him out. After homework, they both went to sleep.

In the morning, Rae got up early and hopped in the shower. When she was dried off, she put on some underwear, then a bright green, baby toll t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and white socks. She went back to Two-Bit's room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for her. They both slipped on their shoes and grabbed their jackets. Two-Bit took their jackets and set them on the couch in the front room while Rae went into the kitchen to cook eggs for them both. They sat down, ate quickly, then left the house, grabbing their jackets and books.

Morning classes were usually; nothing new. Some Socs threw spit balls at her. Before she met Two-Bit, Ponyboy, and Johnny for lunch, she fished the balls out of her hair. Then, she met up with her friends, went to grab some lunch at a near-by convenience store, and went to see Steve and soda. While Soda took Two-Bit and Pony to the back, Rae sat, Indian-style, on the hood of Two-Bit's car, to eat. Johnny leaned up against the back bumper and sipped his soda. Steve walked up to Rae and leaned on the front of the car.

"Heard 'bout you and Curly," he said, with a wide grin. Rae blushed, but didn't say anything. His smile disappeared. "Anyway-" He looked over at Johnny. "Hey, Johnnycake, could you go out back with the others for a few? I wanna talk to Rae." Immediately, Johnny got up and left them. "I've been meanin' to talk to ya, Rae."

"If it's about what happened to me, don't even-"

"But, I'm worried," Steve persisted. She sighed, but let him go on. "When something like this happens to one of us, it affects us all. And- Oh, I don't know. You've probably heard all this before." Rae lowered her sandwich from her mouth and stared at Steve. He moved to the side of the car and repeatedly kicked the tire of the car. Not hard, but not gentle, either. "I just can't believe this has happened."

"Why do you all care about me so much?" she asked. Steve stopped kicking the tire and looked at her as if she were insane.

"You're everyone's sister, Rae. Mostly younger sister, but you're a great role model for Ponyboy and other young kids. You're and awesome person and one the the toughest girls I know," he explained.

"A great role model? I'm not great role model!" she argued. "I'm no great role model, Steve."

"Tell me why! You're one of the few of us who don't smoke. You're a good student. You keep your hands pretty clean. Tell me why you're not-"

"I was running away," she answered as calmly as she could. But, she got off the car and lost it. "I was running away, Steve! I bet no one told you that!" she yelled and punched the backseat window of Two-Bit's car, with all of her strength, which was, for a girl, a lot. The window cracked, and then suddenly shattered. Some pieces of glass got stuck in her hand, which started to bleed profusely. She stared at the broken window in shock, standing still, as if she was frozen in place. Some blood from her hand dropped onto the car. Steve ran over to her and grabbed her hand. Rae wrestled with him for a few minutes, in a daze, and pushed him over, onto the ground. Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she'd just done to her friend. Rae gasped, and then ran off, out of sight. Steve sat there for a second, dumbfounded, and breathing hard.

"Soda!" he yelled, at the top of his lungs. Thirty seconds later, Soda appeared with the others. First, they saw the broken window, and then Steve, on the ground.

"Damn," Soda began. "You okay, man?" He pulled Steve to his feet. He nodded. "Where's Rae?"

"She- she just ran off," he stuttered. He made himself regain his composure quickly. "Can hold up here, Soda?"

"Yeah, sure. You gonna go after her?" Steve nodded and took off in the direction Rae had gone. The first place he went was the Curtis house. No sign of her there. He searched around the town for an hour. Finally, Steve went back to the gas station. Two-Bit, Pony, and Johnny had cleaned up the glass and went back to school. Soda ran outside when he saw his best friend run back. "Any luck?"

"No," Steve said, out of breath. Soda started to go back in.

"I'm going to call Darry," he said, over his shoulder. Steve nodded. Darry decided that they would all get together after work and school to look for her.

As soon as school was over, Two-Bit, Ponyboy, and Johnny were back. They were disappointed to hear that Rae hadn't been found. As soon as work was over, everybody rushed over to the Curtis house. When they all got in, they found Rae, on the floor, barely conscious, and Dally trying to tend to her. There was a long cut on both sides of her face, from her cheek to her temple. It was a knife cut. Whoever it was, was trying to leave their mark. Her clothes were a wreck- dirt all over her shirt and jacket, grass stains on the knees of her jeans. The glass had been removed, probably by herself, from her knuckles, but the dry blood was caked on all over her hand. Dally only looked up for a brief second when his friends walked in.

"Help me," he ordered them. Steve was the first one to move. Dally threw a wet dish towel at him. "Clean her hand." Steve sat down on the floor and tried to gently ash all of the dry blood off.

"Anything I can do, Dally?" Soda asked.

"You can try to keep her awake. I'll be right back," he answered, wiping the last of the blood off of her face. Soda nodded and knelt in Dally's place when he got up. Dally went into the kitchen. Soda took Rae's good hand and peered down at her with a gentle expression.

"Rae? Rae, darlin'?" Soda said, quietly. She didn't move at first. "Hey, little sis? Come on, wake up." Rae opened her eyes and looked up at Soda. Her vision was kind of blurry. And her head hurt like a bitch. She moaned.

"My h-head." She hadn't even realized that her voice escaped from her mouth. It sounded distant, for some reason. She tried to lift the hand that Soda had.

"No, hon. Stay still," Sodapop whispered.

"But, my head got hit," Rae said, weakly.

"What did they hit you with?" Soda asked. Rae didn't want to have to think. It hurt too much. What was it, though? Something long and cold. Not a usual Soc weapon. Her head throbbed, fiercely. She winced.

"A pipe, I think," she answered. "Please don't make me think anymore."

"Alright, hon. I won't ask you anymore questions," Soda said, looking at his best friend, who was looking at him as well. They were both thinking the same thing: concussion. Soda put his free hand under Rae's head. It was wet, with a warm liquid. He drew his hand out and there was blood on it.

"Christ!" Steve exclaimed. "Dally!" Dally immediately came back in. Steve put Rae's cleaned hand down. The punch had busted wide cuts in her knuckles. He pointed at Soda's bloody hand.

"Damnit!" Dally yelled.

"What happened to her?" Darry finally spoke up.

"Found her lying in an alley just inside our turf. She was all beaten up, but the blood on her hand had already been dried. Why was she alone in the first place?" Soda looked at Steve, who sighed.

"She ran off after she broke one of the back seat windows of Two-Bit's car, with her fist," Steve said, summing it up. "I was trying to talk to her, but she just lost it. Tough little one, to break the window of a car with one punch."

"I-I'm sorry, Steve," came Rae's weak voice. He looked down at her.

"Don't talk, Rae," he said. But she didn't hear him. She had passed out. He grabbed the collar of her jacket and lifted her up. "Rae!" She shook her. "Come on, Rae!"


	8. Teachers Suck

(A/N: Sorry it took so long, guys! I had a bit of writer's block and couldn't think up anything good to write. Then I had a pretty good idea. It's a surprise, kind of. I dunno. It kinda changes stuff for Rae, because now she's really gotta watch herself!)

**Chapter 8**

Rae opened her eyes. The first things she saw were the complicated swirls of Steve's hair. He was sitting on the floor of the Curtis front room, leaning against the couch, watching TV. No one else was in the room. Her eyes shifted to the clock, which read about two in the morning. Had he stayed up, waiting for her to wake up? She put a hand on his shoulder and he was instantly turned around.

"Hey kid," he said, quietly, with a smile. She gave half a smile.

"You didn't stay up for me, did you?" she asked.

"You're worth it."

"No, I'm not," she insisted.

"Of course you are," he replied.

"Tell me why."

"Because you're one of the most awesome and toughest girls I know." Rae sat up, slowly. Steve tried to get her to stay down, but she refused. Her head throbbed with so much pain. She'd never felt so much pain in her head before. She had been laying on a towel that soaked up the blood from the back of her head. Later, it turned out to be a minor cut, and no concussion. Her hand had been bandaged up. No stitches, thankfully. "Please don't sit up, Rae," he insisted again.

"No. I'm alright." Before he could do anything, she had her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'm sorry."

"Now, none of that," he said, hugging her back. "I understand. Now, go back to sleep." She obeyed her friend and laid back down. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was Steve's gentle face.

When Rae woke up again, it was around five or six in the morning. She got up and asked Darry what day it was. She couldn't believe that it had already been half a week. It was Thursday. While Soda was helping her wash the blood out of her hair, and change her bandages, since he was all ready, he told her that Steve had left after she had gone back to sleep. Rae put her hair up so it wouldn't move around and aggravate the cut. She changed into clothes from the duffle bag she'd left at the Curtis's. Her jacket still had dirt, but she didn't care. When they were done getting ready, they had some breakfast, which Darry made. After that, Darry and Soda left for work. Steve had not shown up, which was odd. Ponyboy and Rae watched TV for a while, then left for school.

"The dirt looks good on you, greaser," a Soc boy said, while passing the two, in a school hallway. She didn't say anything. Pony looked over at Rae.

"Did he do it?" he asked.

"N- Yes. There were three," she replied. "He was the one who cut me." She pointed to the large Band-Aids on her cheeks. He looked at her for a few seconds.

"You know, Rae, you're a strong one. It wouldn't scared the shit out of me, especially after-" Ponyboy stopped himself. Rae knew what he meant.

"I was scared. Scared to death," she said quietly. "But, someone told me that I shouldn't let it drag me down." Pony watched her out of the corner of his eye. "This is my class. Thanks for walking me." Pony said his goodbyes and quickly walked away. Rae turned and walked into the classroom.

"Looks good on you, grease!" Someone yelled, across the room. She went to the back with all the other Greasers. They all looked at her as she dumped her books on her desk, then dropped into her seat. Her head was still throbbing, and she regretted not taking a few Aspirins before she left. Rae leaned her head against her hands and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened them to notice all of the greasers in her class were staring. It must've been the bandaged on her face and hands. The bell rang and they looked away.

During class, while the boys were throwing spit balls and the back of the Socs' heads, all the Grease girls passed notes to her, asking what happened. Rae wrote one large note and passed it around. She started at the beginning, with the rape. If she hadn't started there, none of it would've made sense.

"Miss Winston," the teacher said, about halfway through class. She looked up from her paper. Her teacher was standing in front of her. He held out his hand. "Give it to me." Rae looked around. Everyone was staring at her. She sighed and gave up the note. Then, she immediately regretted what she'd done. She should've torn it up and taken a detention. The teacher read the note to himself, then looked down at her. "Out in the hall. Now," he ordered. She glared at the older man, then looked at the girls, and left the room in a huff. When she was outside, Rae leaned against the wall, just outside the door, and stuffed her hands in her pockets. A few minutes later, her teacher came out, holding the note in one hand. She looked down at the ground. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?" he asked.

"Don't get involved. Stay out of it," she said, trying to keep her calm. "It is for me to handle as has nothing to do with you."

"I'd say that I'm pretty involved, now," he said, indicating the note. "I'm going to have to tell the principal about this." She stood up straight and slowly walked up to him.

"Don't get involved," Rae repeated. "If you tell anyone, I will personally see to it that you never speak again," she threatened. She snatched the paper out of his hand as the bell rang. She ripped it up and threw it in the trash can right inside the door. A few seconds later, an ultra-thin greaser girl, dressed in jeans and a baby-doll t-shirt appeared, holding Rae's books. Rae took them from her. "Thanks, Carrie." The small girl nodded. Rae took Carrie and left her teacher standing in the middle of the hallway, dazed. Carrie had dirty blonde hair that fell in tangles all down her back. It was shiny and greasy. She was a few inches shorter than Rae was.

"Why do they have to get involved?" Carrie asked, with a sigh. Rae shrugged. "It messes up everything."

"Yeah. But, teachers are just mere obstacles. We can get over 'em." Carrie nodded. "Anyway, see ya later, Carrie." The smaller girl waved as she watched her taller friend turn the corner.

At lunch, Rae told the lunchtime gang about what had happened that morning. She stayed calm on the outside, but she wasn't about to go soft and freak out about being worried.

"This is bad," Soda stated.

"Yeah. If your teacher tells the fuzz, they could take you away," Steve said. "And they could take you far away." All of Rae's worries were now out in the open.

"Exactly," Rae said, sighing.

"If they take you away, I'm going to make sure that mom takes you in," Two-Bit said. Raelee smiled.

"Don't you think your being a bit rash?" she asked her friend. "You should probably talk to your mom about that first. And besides, if they're going to take me away, they're going to take me somewhere kind of far from my dad. Maybe to the other side of town."

"Anyway, what are we gonna do?" Ponyboy asked.

"We'll talk to Darry and Dally when we get home," Soda said. Everyone nodded.

"Alright, kids," Two-bit said. "We gotta get going. Lunch is almost over."

"Alright. Bye, guys. See ya later tonight," Johnny said. Rae climbed off the hood of Two-Bit's car and hopped into the back seat. Johnny got in next to her. Pony and Two-Bit got in the front. They left Steve and Sodapop at the DX. Rae was unusually quiet. "Don't worry, Rae. You'll be alright," Johnny said, looked at her. She smiled.

"Thanks, Johnny," she said.

Back at school, Rae found Carrie waiting for her outside the school, on the front steps. She looked sad.

"Anything wrong, Carrie?" Rae asked as they were walking to class.

"What happens if they take you away, Rae?" Carrie asked. Rae out and arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, kid," Rae answered. "We'll figure something about." The bell rang. "Come on." With that, the two Greaser girls took of running into the school and to their class.


	9. Curly and Groceries

(A/N: I guess I'm on a roll now. Heh. I'll try to keep the chapter coming as quick as I can. Btw, I really only had writer's block for that last chapter. I kinda skipped around and wrote some stuff for the future of the story. I think it's gunna be good. If you've read "That Was Then, This Is Now" you'll understand a part that's in this chapter. And other parts of the later story. I'll stop giving hints now.)

**Chapter 9**

The next afternoon, Friday, Dally and Tim were sitting on the front porch of the Curtis house when Rae and Ponyboy arrived. They all looked at each other, then Dally turned to Tim.

"Thanks, man," he said. Tim nodded, stood up, and walked away without another word. "Hey, kids."

"Hi Dally!" Rae exclaimed, with a smile.

"Happy today?" he asked, watching her walk up the steps to him and sit down. She nodded. He was glad, but didn't show it. Ponyboy went past them and into the house. Dally looked at his younger sister, with a serious look. "Soda told me about your teacher." Rae's smile slowly disappeared.

"Yeah. We don't know what to do about it," Rae said, looking down at the books sitting in hr lap. "I threatened him. Then, Darry told us that all we could really do was to wait and see what happens."

"He's right, you know. We've all got to start being careful, too. But, if anyone gives you any more trouble like that, you tell me, alright?" Dally said, looked at her. She nodded. "Hey, don't look so down, little sis. It'll get better. And Time said Curly was coming to see you today, when he was finished with his business." Rae's expression didn't change, even at the mention of Curly's name. "Tim said he should be down here within an hour or two." She shrugged, still clearly upset. Dally sighed and put an arm around her shoulders. "You'll be okay, Rae," he tried to say, gently. "Now, get inside and do your homework." Rae immediately got up and left her brother alone. As soon as she was inside, she pulled the thin ponytail holder out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. The cut on the back of her head had scabbed over and her hair didn't bother it anymore. She still had the bandaged on her hand and over her cheeks. Rae put her books on the couch and took her pencil out of her back pocket. Then, she sat next to her books, propped her feet up on the coffee table, and began her homework. The next hour passed by, slowly.

"Rae?" Ponyboy's voice sounded. He peered out from behind the corner. She had just finished the last of her work and was setting it aside. She looked at her friend.

"Yeah?"

"Could you help me with my English?" he asked. She smiled and got up. English. Her specialty.

"Sure," she replied. Rae followed her friend back to the room he shared with his older brother. He sat down at the desk and she looked over his shoulder. He had to do a multiple choice worksheet. For the next twenty minutes, Rae helped him by explaining things out. "You good now?"

"Yeah, thanks," Pony said, with a nod. Rae turned to go out of the room, but she saw Curly standing in the doorway, and abruptly stopped.

"I never knew you were so smart," he said, with a smile. She smiled as well and he held out his arms. Rae ran into them and they hugged in the open doorway for a few minutes. When they let go of each other, Curly took her chin in his hand and moved her head around to inspect her face. "Got roughed up a bit, I see. By who?"

"Few Socs." He looked down at her hand and held it up.

"And what happened here?" She took him to the front room and explained. "Well, you have always been tough," he commented, when she finished her story.

"So, what kind of business did you have to attend to this time?" Rae asked, getting away from the other subject.

"Some boy named Mark Jennings was giving Angel a hard time," he answered. She nodded, and wanted to shudder. Angel- or Angela- Shepard was Curly's sister. Rae didn't know her too well, and didn't really mind that. They both sat quietly for a few minutes. "Tim told me 'bout your teacher."

"How'd he find out?" Rae asked, curiously.

"Dally, probably. Tim said he was here when you and Ponyboy got home."

"Yeah, he was." There was an awkward silence.

"If you need me to rough up anybody for you, just-"

"No. Not now. I think I scared him pretty good," she said, cutting him off. "He won't tell for a while." Curly nodded, satisfied with what he heard.

"Good girl," he said, with a smile. The phone rang. Before Rae could get up, Ponyboy was in the kitchen, phone in hand.

"Hello?" he answered it. "Oh, hey, Darry. Right." He paused, listening to his oldest brother. "Alright. See you." Pony hung up the phone and looked at Rae. "Darry is going to be home late and wanted to know if you could make dinner." Rae shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess," she answered. Curly looked at her, amused.

"You can cook too?" he asked his girl.

"Only a little," she said, blushing a bit.

"Darry said if you needed to buy anything, there's some money on his dresser," Ponyboy added.

"Thanks. What do you guys want?" Rae asked, standing up. She looked at Ponyboy, who shrugged. "Well, that doesn't help." She sighed. "I guess I could just make some hamburgers."

"That'll work for me," Pony said.

"Tim's expecting me back soon. I really shouldn't stay," Curly said. Rae looked disappointed. "Sorry, Rae." She shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just have to take Pony to the store with me." Curly nodded.

"Alright. I'll be back when I can," he said and kissed Raelee.

"See ya," she said, hugging him tightly. When she let go, he waved and flew out the front door. Pony had disappeared while the two were saying their goodbyes. He now came back to Rae's side, holding some money.

"Let's go," he said. Rae nodded, grabbed her jacket, and left with Ponyboy for the grocery store. It was chilly outside, so she flipped the collar of her jean jacket up and buttoned it. Pony zipped his sweatshirt up.

When they got to the store, there weren't many people there. The two got tons of beef out of the refrigerated section, since all the guys ate like horses. They also grabbed some vegetables and then went to the front register. They had to wait for another lady to get checked out before it was their turn. While waiting, Rae's eyes glazed over and she spaced out for a few seconds. Ponyboy looked at her.

"Rae?" When she didn't move, he nudged her, and she instantly came back to the present with a slight jump.

"Huh?" She looked over at her friend.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked.

"Why do you think they call them 'hamburgers'?" Raelee asked. Ponyboy stared at her as if he hadn't heard her. She gave the food to the cash register man.

"Yeah. I mean, isn't 'ham' pig?" Pony rolled his eyes. Rae thought for another few seconds. "Maybe they used to be made of ham but then it changed to beef?"

"Leave it alone, Rae," Ponyboy said to his older friend. He paid the man at the register and helped Rae with the bags.

"We'd better walk fast. All of 'em will be over tonight, and soon, I presume," Rae stated. She was silent for a moment. "Boys galore!" Ponyboy let out a chuckle.

"Right." They were quiet, but quickened their pace a bit.

"What do you want to do with your life, Pony?" Rae asked, suddenly serious. She was looking up at the sky. He looked at her for a second, then sighed.

"I don't know yet," he said. "Darry wants to send me to college. Maybe I'll study to be a teacher or something. I'm pretty smart." Rae nodded. "What about you?"

"I think I'll marry Curly Shepard," she said, quickly, as if expecting him to ask. "If he want to, of course." Pony nodded. "I'm not quite sure what kind of job I would ever want. I'd rather just stay at home, I think."

"Well, it's a good thing you can cook!" he exclaimed. They both laughed and kept on walking.


	10. The Second Meeting

(A/N: Sorry it took so long, guys! I've been really busy lately. There was Easter and there was our High School's Spring Musical. I was in the pit orchestra playing flute. The show was AWESOME, though. We did Fiddler on the Roof.)

**Chapter 10**

On Saturday morning, the next day, Rae rolled off of Two-Bit's couch and hit the floor. She sat up quickly, awake, alert, and her head throbbed viciously. She put her hand on her head and tried to remember the night before. It was really fuzzy, but there were scenes. Darry asked her to go to Two-Bit's. Two-Bit pulled out some alcohol. There were playing cards as well. He must've gotten her to drink. She must've gotten drunk for the way her head hurt. She looked over to her older friend's bed. He wasn't there.

"Damn, you can sure drink a lot," Two-Bit's voice said from the doorway. Rae looked over at him. He was holding two mugs of steaming coffee in his hands. She stood up, slowly, and went over to him. "Here," he said, pushing one of the mugs at her. She took it gratefully and took a sip. The coffee burned her tongue. As if she needed anymore pain.

"Well, you've answered my first question," Raelee said. "And-"

"You didn't do anything embarrassing," he answered her unasked question. She looked at him, suspiciously. "Don't worry, I didn't trick you into having sex with me." He took a sip out of his own mug. She let out a breath. "You just talked. That's all. For someone who never drinks, you can sure hold your liquor pretty well, kid."

"What did I say?" she asked him, afraid of what she might have confessed to him. He looked at her with regret.

"You told me who really beat you up," Two-Bit answered, reluctantly, gently touching the now healing cuts on the sides of her face. "You told us all it was the Socs. Why did you lie to us? You haven't even told Curly, have you?" Rae looked away and took another sip of coffee.

"Do we have to talk about this now?" she asked. Two-Bit looked at her for a few silent seconds, then sighed.

"No, but this will not be the last time," he answered. She nodded and chugged the coffee to the best of her ability. He looked away. "Go get ready. We're going to a movie with Ponyboy and Johnny, if you've forgotten." Rae put her mug on Two-Bit's dresser, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower, without another word. All she wanted to do was climb into a hole and not show her face to anyone anymore. Two-Bit would eventually tell all of her friends. She vowed from then on to never drink again.

When she was done in the shower, Rae put on a maroon tight-fitting T-shirt and dark jeans. She brushed her hair and teeth, then looked in the mirror. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Almost done? The movie starts at two!" Two-Bit yelled through the door. "It's already one-thirty!" Did she really sleep that long? Rae set her brush on the counter and opened the door. Her friend stood just outside the door, dressed, complete with jacket and shoes, and leaning up against the wall. He looked at her when she came out. "Ready?"

"Just about," she said quietly and walked out to the front room with him. She slipped her Chuck Taylors and jacket on. "Are we picking Pony and Johnny up?" she asked, walking out to Two-Bit's car.

"Nah. They're walkin', as usual," he answered. "Just hope they don't get jumped."

"Yeah," Rae dropped into the passenger seat of the beat-up car and shut the door. Two-Bit got in the driver's side and started the car. She looking out her window to avoid him, and got stuck in her thoughts. Suddenly, her face went pale. Two-Bit looked at her.

"Rae?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, gently. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"A week," she whispered. "It's been a week." Two-Bit looked back at the rode and sighed.

"We were going to try to keep your mind off of it," he said. Rae looked back out her window. This wouldn't be easy. Without meaning it, or thinking about it, the words slipped out of Rae's mouth.

"I want to go back." Two-Bit knew exactly what she meant.

"Absolutely not," he said, instantly. "Remember what happened the last time?" She kept looking out her window. He looked at her curiously. "Why?" Rae couldn't answer him. She didn't have any idea. It was just a feeling. "I hate not doing what you ask, but I will absolutely not take you there again." She shrugged, a little relieved, and got lost in her thoughts again.

It was a quarter 'til two when they got to the movie house. The two paid and went inside. Ponyboy and Johnny were already there, sitting three rows from the front. No one else showed up for that showing. So, instead of actually watching the movie, Pony, Johnny, and Two-Bit started throwing popcorn at each other. Rae sat between Ponyboy and Two-Bit and tried hard to pay attention to the show. Eventually, she got so fed up with them and left for the bathroom. Instead of actually going, she left the whole building and went walking down the street. No doubt her friends would come and look for her sooner or later. She just needed to be alone. Rae didn't watch where she was going, and let her feet carry her wherever. Suddenly, there was a slight tug on her hand that pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned to see her dark-skinned friend, holding her hand.

"Johnny?"

"I knew you hadn't gone to the bathroom," he said quietly.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" she asked, meaning Two-Bit and Ponyboy. Johnny shook his head. Rae smiled. "Thanks. Let's go take a walk." He nodded, dropped her hand and started walking beside her.

"You okay, Rae?" he asked her as they walked.

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "It's still somewhat of a shock. But atleast I have the gang to take care of me." Johnny opened his mouth to speak, but what cut of by a car, which drove up next to them.

"They you are," a familiar man's voice, said. "You little bitch." The two friends turned quickly to find Rae and Dally's father sitting behind the wheel of his car. "Out with these good-for-nothing punks, again, I see." Rae became angry, quickly. "Get in."

"Hell, no," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Leave her alone, creep!" Johnny shouted. Her father got out if his car, angrily, and looked like he was about to kill Johnny, who recoiled behind his friend. Rae looked around for someone, anyone. But there was no one. The older man pushed Rae out of his way and punched Johnny in the stomach. She gasped loudly and jump between him and her father. She put her hands on Johnny's shoulders.

"Run, Johnny. Go for help," she ordered him, in a whisper before she was kicked in the side. Rae rolled to the ground, a few feet away from Johnny, who just stared at her. "Go." He stood up from the ground and took off. She took her blue-handled switchblade out of her back pocket as she was standing up.

"You going to take me on, little girl?" her father asked, as menacingly as he could. "You won't win."

"I'm only going to hold you off until help comes from some of my good-for-nothing friends," she answered. She was being a smart-ass so he wouldn't be able to tell that she was scared. He flinched once, on purpose, and Rae went to take a stab at him. She noticed that it was a trick too late. He caught her wrist and twisted it until the knife fell out of her hand.

"That's better," he said, smirking. She tried to twist out of his grip, but as he predicted, he was too strong for her. She growled, frustrated and kicked him in the balls. He let out an angry grunt and pushed her to the ground. Rae got to her feet as quick as she could, but she overestimated her attack. The kick to the groin seemed to not have much effect. Her father grabbed her by the waist and tried to drag her back to his car. She got hold of his arm and bit it hard enough to draw blood. He dropped Rae immediately. She hit the ground on her left side but instantly scrambled away.

"Get away," she threatened when she was on her feet again. He closed in on her again, blood dripping from his arm. He raised his arm to punch her and she turned, covering herself, waiting for the blow to come. But it never came. She turned around to find someone holding her father back.


	11. To The Rescue!

**Chapter 11**

Curly Shepard threw Rae's father to the ground and looked at his girlfriend, who was still cowering. He went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She flinched, but then realized who it was. She relaxed a little and dropped into his open arms.

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging him, tightly, and burying her face in his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her.

"You're alright now," Curly reassured her, gently. "I won't let him hurt you anymore." Behind them, Rae's father stood up on his feet and, as silently as he could, went for Curly's back. Before he got there, though, someone punched him in the face.

"Get away from my sister, asshole!" Dally yelled at his father. Blood spilled out of the older man's nose and he stumbled back to his car.

"This is not the end," he said, then sped away. Johnny came out of his hiding place and stood by Dally.

"Is she okay?" Dally asked his sister's boyfriend.

"Her wrist is twisted and she'll have a bruise on her side," Curly answered. "But, otherwise, she's fine." Rae was still holding onto him for dear life. Curly put his hand on her head. "It's alright, now, Rae." She picked up her head and looked around at everyone. She pulled away from Curly and looked at her brother. He was going to be mad with her and scold her; she just knew it. Rae looked down at the ground.

"Johnny, go back to Two-Bit and Pony. Curly, go ahead home," Dally ordered, forcefully. Johnny, as always, obeyed instantly. But, Curly seemed reluctant. He was about to argue when he saw the blazing look of Dally's eyes. The dangerous blazing look. Finally, he left the siblings alone.

"I'm sorry, Dally. I didn't know he would-," Rae started. Dally shushed his little sister. The danger in his eyes wore down and he pulled his sister into a hug.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault," he said. "Come on. I'm taking you to the Curtis house." She nodded and followed him back to Buck's car- which he was borrowing again-, about a mile down the road. That's where Johnny must've found Dally. Rae climbed in the car and felt very dizzy. She might've been exhausted, or maybe it was the lack of food she had that day. She didn't even see her brother get into the car before she was out cold.

When Rae woke up, she was laying on a couch in the Curtis living room. The clock said it was about seven in the evening. The sun was setting. The house was still, except for some muffled sounds coming from the dining room. She sat up, the best she could. Her side, where her father had kicked her, hurt like mad. Her wrist was all swollen up. As she stood up, Rae's stomach growled.

"Food sounds awfully good right now," she whispered to herself and walked towards the dining room. She was still weak and ended up falling against the wall when she reached the room. Everyone in that room stopped and looked at her. It was only the Curtis brothers and Dally tonight. Steve must've been on good terms with his dad that night. It was unusual for him not to be there. Sodapop instantly got up and helped her to the table.

"You've got one tough trooper, there, Dally," Darry said, eyeing Raelee, who was up and moving, despite the beating she just had.

"Yeah, no kidding," he big brother said. "She gets it from me, ya know," he bragged. Everyone gave a laugh.

"Go ahead and dig in, Rae," Soda said. She instantly tore into the food that was n the table. By then end, she had eaten just about as much as the boys had.

"Slow down, Rae. You'll get a stomach ache," Darry warned, but she didn't care. Afterwards, Pony Soda, and Rae sat in the front room while Darry and Dally talked.

"Someone needs to watch her all the time," Dally insisted, showing a little concern. "We can't let this happen again." Darry nodded, in agreement.

"You know, Dally," he started. "Maybe we should just send her away. I know you don't like the idea but-"

"No!" Dally exclaimed, showing emotion. "She's my only family! I can't just abandon her life that. I promised her I'd always be by her side, protecting her."

"Well, maybe protecting her means sending her to a foster family for a while," Darry kept pushing. Dally sighed and sat down.

"I can't do that to her. She'll never forgive me," he said, quietly. Darry saw the devotion Dally had for his sister, and the strong relationship.

"Alright, I'll have Pony and Two-Bit stay with her during the day. I'll keep her here at night," Darry agreed to his friend's terms.

Out in the front room, the other three were playing poker and having a great time. Ponyboy sucked at cheating and bluffing. Rae wasn't too bad, having learned all she knew from Dally. Soda wasn't an expert, but he was not at all bad, either.

"I win again," Rae said, looking at her friends' hands. The two boys sighed.

"Hey, do you guys want to go out for some ice cream?" Soda offered. Pony and Rae looked at each other, then nodded, excitedly, like giddy little kids. Soda pop stood up and grabbed some money, then poked his head into the dining room. "I'm taking Pony and Rae for some ice cream."

"Alright," Darry said. "And Soda, keep an eye one her." Soda nodded and ran back into the front room.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed. All three slipped on their shoes and jackets, then went out the door and down the steps. They walked slow, for the sake of Rae being sore.

"So, what happened, exactly?" Pony asked her, seriously. She shrugged as if she didn't care, even though she was worried for her and her friends' wellbeing after this incident.

"Got beat up by my dad is all. It's really nothing new. You know that," she answered and sighed. Soda caught the worried expression on her face, even in the dark and put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's alright, little sis. We'll protect ya!" he exclaimed and roughed up her hair.

"Oh, I don't want to go back to school on Monday," Rae said. Pony looked at Soda.

"Monday is tomorrow, you know," Soda said. Rae looked at them, confused.

"But, I thought-"

"You didn't know you slept for a whole day?"

"Obviously not, Soda," pony said when he saw the expression on her face.

"Damn," she said, looking down.

"What's wrong?" Pony asked.

"We missed my birthday," Rae replied. Ponyboy and Soda exchanged glances. Then, Soda smiled.

"Well, consider this a birthday treat!" he exclaimed. She smiled and agreed.

"Thank you." They finally reached the ice cream stand. Soda bought them their favorite kinds and they sat on a nearby picnic table to eat. And they didn't even go home until ten.


	12. I Love You

(A/N: Heya! Another chapter is complete…after the first Curly chapter, this one is my second favorite chapter because of Dally! You'll see. Thank you to all my reviewers! I HUG all! Especially Rockerlane!

ACK! I think I just got my bubblegum stuck in my hair. Onto the story, anyway!)

**Chapter 12**

Rae sat up on the couch in the Curtis's front room. The sun was just starting to show through the window. It hurt her side to sit up, but she tried not to pay attention to it. After all, she'd been through worse. She always thought it'd get better after she turned sixteen. But she'd been sixteen for a day already and if anything, she felt worse. Darry walked out from the hallway, heading for the kitchen. He glanced over at Rae and did a double take when he saw that she was awake. He stopped before he went into the kitchen.

"'Morning, Rae," Darry said, quietly. She nodded, and then wondered why he was talking so quietly. He must have noticed that she was confused because he looked over to the armchair where Dally was sitting, covered up, and fast asleep. "He hasn't gotten much sleep since this started." She got up and walked over to Darry.

"I imagine not," Rae whispered, looking at her brother. She smiled. "He doesn't look so tough when he's asleep, does he?"

"Hey, I can hear you over here," Dally mumbled. Rae let out a short giggle. Darry went into the kitchen. Before she could follow him, Rae's older brother stopped her. "Hey, Rae, c'mere." She looked over at him. His eyes were open and he was watching her. She went over to him and stood awkwardly next to the armchair. Dally took her hand and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace.

"What are you-" He held a hand up to her mouth. She stopped immediately.

"You know, I may act tough and cold all the time, but I hope you know that I love you, little sis," he said, still hugging her. Rae held a surprised look on her face.

"Dally, are you still asleep?" she asked her brother, seriously.

"Am I not allowed to act nice sometimes?" he asked, looking at her with all the seriousness in the world. Rae stared at him for a few moments.

"Please don't ever leave me, Dally."

"As long as you don't leave me, Rae." She smiled and curled up in his lap, laying her head on his chest.

"I love you, so much, big brother." Her let her curl up. He kept his arms around her and the laid his head on hers. Sodapop passed the room. There was a smile on his face as he went into the kitchen. Ponyboy did the same thing when he went to the kitchen for some breakfast.

"I- I love you too," Dally whispered to his little sister. For once, in a really long time, Rae felt truly safe, curled up with her older brother holding her. It reminded her of when she was little. It was when her mother was still alive. Their father was abusive of his kids as well as his wife. And they'd always yell. Their mother would always try to protect them. This was when they were still in New York. Dally had just turned seven and Rae was still 5.

_Flashback_

"_Mommy, why is your eye black?" little Raelee Angela Winston asked her mother. She was sitting on the counter of the kitchen, watching her mother attempt to make dinner for her husband before he got home and bitched at her. She stopped briefly to put Rae on the floor. Dally stood leaning on the wall, not far away. _

"_Don't worry about it, sweetie," the older woman replied. There was the sound of a car engine outside. "Dallas, would you take your sister and go up to your rooms? Your father's home." _

"_He's no father of mine," Dally protested, but immediately took his sister's hand and went up the stairs. He left his sister in her room, with her dolls, and closed the door so the yelling from downstairs would be muffled. Then, he went to his own room and barely had the door closed before the argument in the kitchen started. Dally sat on his bed and tried to tone them out. It was a usual argument, from what he did hear. He was in a bad mood, as he always was when he got home from work, and he had a migraine, from the hangover he had from the night before. After a few minutes of the argument, Dally heard tiny sobs coming from the other room. A few seconds later, Rae burst through his door, tears running down her cheeks. He gave a start, but relaxed when he realized it was just his sister._

"_What's wrong?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer._

"_Please make them stop, Dally," Rae cried. He sighed and opened his arms to her._

"_Come here," he said. She climbed on to his bed and into his lap. He closed his arms around her when she was settled. "I'm sorry, Rae. I can't make them stop. But, just stay here for a while with me and try to get some sleep." She quieted down after a few minutes of being in the warmth of her older brother and finally fell asleep. When she was out, Dally pushed her off of his lap, turned off his light, then climbed back into bed and covered them both up. Just before Dally fell sound asleep, the front door slammed, and the car engine started up. Finally, he thought, and closed his eyes. When their mother came up, after their father had left for the bar, as he did every night, Dally was asleep. She kissed both of her children. _

"_I'm sorry," she whispered and quietly left the room._

_End Flashback._

"Rae? Rae, wake up," Dally's voice woke her up. She lifted her head from her brother's chest. "It's time to get ready for school, little sis."

"What?" Rae asked, her eyes half opened.

"You have to go to school, now," Dally said. "You fell back to sleep." She nodded and got off his lap. Then, she went into the kitchen and gladly accepted some coffee from Darry, hoping it would wake her up some. After a few minutes, Darry and Soda had to leave. They left Dally, Rae, and Pony alone in the house. Rae got ready quickly and sat on the couch, waiting for Ponyboy. Her brother was still sitting in the armchair.

"So, what are you going to do today?" she asked. He looked at her.

"I don't know," he answered. "I will walk you and Pony to school, though." Rae nodded. "Maybe I'll hang with Tim, too. Who knows?" Ponyboy walked into the room.

"You ready?" he asked, coming the last bit of hair grease into his hair. She nodded and stood up. Dally put his shoes on while Rae slipped her jacket on. The two students grabbed their books and all three headed out the front door. The walk to school was uneventful, but when they got there, Rae's super-thin, blonde haired, grease girl friend was sitting on the curb, waiting for her. When Carrie saw her friend, her face lit up and she stood up. Rae turned to her brother.

"Carrie's waitin' for me. I'll see you after school, huh?" she said. He nodded and watched his sister run off towards her friend. Pony went off in a different direction. Dally waited until she was inside the school before leaving.

"Was that your brother?" Carrie asked Rae as they walked to their first class. Her friend nodded. "He looks real tough."

"Yeah, he is," Rae said, smiling. _And sweet, too._


	13. Dances and Confessions

(A/N: Well, sorry it's been a while. I've been kinda busy. Oh well. Here's the next chapter! You'll find out something at the end and, uh, the Socs are so cheap. Yeah. Thanks to all my reviewers!)

**Chapter 13**

That afternoon, Ponyboy and Two-Bit walked Raelee home from school. When they got to the Curtis house, Tim and Curly Shepard were sitting on the front steps. Tim was harassing his younger brother about something, but stopped the second he saw the other three. He stood up.

"Uh, hey," Ponyboy said when they reached the steps. "You guys could have gone in, ya know." Tim shrugged and looked down at his brother. Curly had his hands stuffed in his pocket and was looking down. The older boy sighed, grabbed his brother by the collar if his shirt, and hoisted him to his feet.

"Stop being shy," Tim said and pushed Curly towards Rae. Curly shrugged his brother off and looked down at his girlfriend.

"There's a dance at your school on Saturday," he started. All the other boys moved in closer. "There's also a dancing contest and I know how much you like to dance."

"Get to the point," Tim mumbled in his brother's ear.

"Well, I was, uh, wonderin' if you'd like to, uh, go with me?" Curly looked down and turned away. Rae turned bright red. So red, Two-Bit wanted to laugh. "This is stupid. If you don't want to go-"

"No, I'd like to," she said, quietly. He turned back to her.

"Really?" She smiled and nodded. He smiled as well, and then looked around at all of the boys watching them. "The show's over now!" They all looked away, pretending to stare at other things.

On Saturday night, Raelee took Curly's arm as they got out of Darry's truck and walked up to the gym of the high school. She had on a purple, no-sleeve dress, which went down to her knees. Curly had on black pants, a purple shirt, the match her dress, black boots, and of course, his black leather jacket. Darry smiled at the two and waited for Pony and Johnny to get out of the back. When they were out, he drove away and left them on their own for the night- at their school's Homecoming Dance. Normally, the boys wouldn't have gone, but they wanted to accompany Rae. Johnny and Ponyboy didn't have dates, so they were just going to stand around and watch. They might find some girls to dance with when the party really started. Two-Bit was coming. He insisted on coming alone, but he was probably with some blonde girl. They'd meet up in the gym, later.

"Alright, let's get in there," Curly said. They walked up to the lady at the desk, right outside the gym.

"Tickets?" she asked, in a polite tone. Curly handed her his and Rae's. They went in and waited for Ponyboy and Johnny. When they were all in, they dropped their stuff at a table and went for the dance floor. The contest hadn't started yet, but they danced anyway. Two-bit eventually did show up- surprisingly alone. Was he planning on hooking up with a girl there? After a while, a few slow dances played and Curly took Rae for the first one. They danced close together. She smiled up at him.

"Thanks for comin', Curly," she said as they danced.

"Anything for you," he said. Rae blushed a little, but no one could tell, since the lights were dimmed. When the first slow dance ended, Two-Bit wanted a dance. Curly kindly stepped out of the way and let him. He went over to Pony and Johnny, who were standing against the wall, sipping punch. The next dance started and Two-Bit took Rae's hand.

'How ya doing?" he asked Rae, meaning the events of the last few weeks. She thought for a second. After being raped by her father, it seemed to have gotten really bad. After that, she got beat up and Two-Bit knew who it was. She had run into the Socs at the skating rink, her teacher had found out about her little secret, she had been beaten up by her father on the side of the road, and basically had been helpless for the past couple of weeks. On top of that, she kept switching houses she was staying at and couldn't settle for very long before she had to move again. So, how was she really doing?

"I guess I'm doing alright," she said, thinking about all the better things she'd had, as well. She had gone to the skating rink with her friends and had a good time, despite running into the Soc. She had a good group of friends, who cared about her a lot. She had an awesome brother, who she looked up to, even though most people would call her crazy for it. She had a great boyfriend, who was usually tough and cold, but warm and gentle with her. She also got to threaten her teacher, which made her feel pretty cool. "Yeah," she said as her final answer. "I am doing alright."

"That's good," Two-Bit said, with a smile. It faded slowly into a straight line. "When are you going to tell Curly about An-"

"Soon." He nodded and left it alone. When their dance ended, they rejoined the other three boys. They stood on the wall for a while, laughing and messing around, as they watched the Socs dance. Some of them stared at the Greasers, incredulously. They were asking themselves why the outcasts were there. Rae thought she saw Carrie, her blonde headed, super-thin grease friend, dancing with one of the Greaser boys who sat in the back in one of her classes. She smiled.

"Rae, the contest is going to start now," Curly said into her ears. How long had they been standing there? Two-Bit had found some blonde girl to dance with. They were going to participate too. Ponyboy and Johnny decided to stand and watch. Rae took Curly's hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. One of the teachers recited all of the rules. Nothing dirty, if you get told you're out, that means you're out, blah, blah, blah. First prize was $50 for each partner. Finally, the music started. Teachers, acting as judges, were taking people out all around them, but always skipped Curly and Raelee. After a few songs, there were only a few couples left. Two-Bit and his girl got disqualified for dancing dirty. Carrie and her boy stayed in for a good long while, dancing next to Curly and Rae, but were eventually taken out when a Soc tripped her. Rae almost tripped over her own feet once, but there wasn't a teacher watching at that moment.

"This is great, huh?" Curly asked.

"I didn't think you'd like this!" Rae exclaimed. He shrugged. "And I didn't know you could dance this well!" He smiled.

"I still have some secrets!" Rae laughed. She looked around. There was only two sets of dancers left. Her smile disappeared when she saw who was left. Is was Bob, and his girlfriend, Cherry. He smirked at Rae. She glared. A bunch of Socs were crowded around them now. Two-Bit, Carrie, and their other friends managed to get up close. Everyone, except for the few greasers, were cheering the Socs on. In the middle of the deciding dance, Bob looked over at someone and nodded. Another minutes passed by and Rae felt something under her foot. Curly saw it coming and held her up. She smiled at him, gratefully. He nodded. Bob glared at them both. Suddenly, he saw something behind Rae and Curly that made him smile. They both looked back to see a very bright flash. The light made Rae a little disoriented and she stopped moving.

"That's it!" someone yelled. One of the teachers, probably. When all the little dots in Rae's eyes went away, she looked over at Bob and Cherry, who were looking smug with all their friends around them. Curly wanted to go over and punch him for tricking them into looking. She held him back.

"Don't worry about it." He settled down after a while. They left soon afterwards. Rae wasn't too disappointed. She really didn't care. At least she had a good time, right? When they got back to the Curtis house, Two-Bit and Johnny left. When Ponyboy went inside, Rae decided this was an appropriate moment. "Curly, I have something to tell you." He walked up to her.

"What is it?"

"Remember when I got beat up not too long ago? The cuts on the sides of my face…dirt everywhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course I do. Socs, right?"

"No," she started. He stared at her.

"What?"

"It was your sister, Angela."

(Dun dun dunnnnnn)


	14. Bravery

(A/n: Haha. Sorry it took so long to update…I haven't felt like writing. But here's another chapter of Raelee! I don't really like this chapter. I mean, I think it's a good chapter, I just don't like the events in it. Oh well. Flashback included! Ok. Enough talking. Go read!

And thanks to all my constant reviewers! Especially Rockerlane!)

**Chapter 14**

Twenty minutes later, after she had told Curly that his own sister had beaten her up, Raelee was sitting on the Curtis couch, in the front room. She was wearing a pair of baggy pajama pants, which she had borrowed from Sodapop, and a t-shirt that was too big on her. She sat hugging her knees to her chest and keeping her eyes away from Curly. Curly was sitting in the chair across from the couch. He was staring at her in silence. It was about 10:45 PM. Darry was asleep already. He had to be at work early, as usual. Then dance had worn Ponyboy out, so he was out as well. Soda was in the kitchen, making them some hot chocolate.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, finally. She hugged her knees tighter, remembering the day she had been beaten up.

"She threatened me, Curly," Rae started. "She told me if I told you, she'd come back and finish me off."

"Why are you scared of her, Rae? You aren't afraid of standing up to Socs. You are brave when you're facing your father. Why are you afraid of my sister, of all people?" Curly asked, angrily. Soda came into the room, holding two mugs of steaming liquid. He handed one to each of his friends.

"Drink up. I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late," Soda said and then left the room. As soon as he was gone, Curly went back to the subject of Angela.

"So, why are you afraid of her?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You saw what she did to me," she said. "And she's two years younger than me!"

"So? You're strong! Fight back!" Curly exclaimed, uncrossing his arms.

"She hit me on the head with a metal pipe! I couldn't have done anything!" Rae let her legs go and they fell from the couch to the floor. She leaned her back against the couch and sighed. "Angela's really jealous that we're together. Maybe we should just stay away from each other." She looked down at her lap, tears forming in her eyes. She did her best to keep them back. Curly stood up and walked over to her. He sat down next to her. He put an arm around her shoulders and his other hand under her chin. He turned her head towards him.

"Never," he whispered and kissed her, passionately. The tears she was trying to hold back fell from her eyes as she was taken by surprise. After a few seconds of shock, she closed her eyes and let him kiss her, taking in his warmth. They sat there, making out, for a few minutes before he put a hand behind her head and the other around her waist. He laid her down on the couch, all the while keeping their lips connected. When he was sure she was safely laying down, he took the hand on her waist and started to go up her shirt. When Rae felt a hand on her flesh, she turned her head away from his.

"I don't think I'm ready for this, yet," she said, pushing her hand against his chest, wanting him to sit up. Curly looked down at his girlfriend and quickly sat up. He looked away.

"I'm so sorry Rae," he said. She sat up as well. "I'm-"

"Don't worry about it," she said.

"But I should have known, after-"

"I said not to worry." She put a hand on his. "I love you. Just, not yet." He nodded. "Now, it's late. I think you should probably get home."

"You're right," he said, and nodded. "Tim's probably wondering where I am." He took her head in his hands and kissed her one last time. She flung her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her as well and held her tightly. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight," Rae whispered. They let go of each other. Curly went out the front door. He stopped before he was completely out, nodded to someone outside, and then was gone. A few seconds later, Dally walked through the door, watching Curly leave, over his shoulder. He turned to Rae.

"Hey, kiddo," he said. Raelee smiled.

"Hey, Dal." She offered him the seat next to her and he took it.

"That was beave of you, you know," her older brother said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Brave?" she asked, leaning in to him. He nodded.

"Yeah. First tellin' Curly 'bout what Angela did to you, and then having the guts to tell him now," Dally answered. "I'm real proud of ya."

"Why would you be proud?" Rae asked, looking up at him.

"A lot of girls are too scared to say no." Rae looked over to the empty chair across the room. "But you, my little sis, are growing up to be like your big brother! Brave and strong." She smiled. "But, I never want you to become hard, like me, and not care about much. I don't want you to get in a lot of trouble with the cops, either." He looked down at her. She looked like she was dozing off. "You look tired."

"It was an eventful night," she said. Dally grabbed a pillow that was sitting on his other side and set it on his lap. He forced his sister to lay down, her head on the pillow in his lap. She looked up at her brother.

"Go ahead and go to sleep," he said.

"But what about you?" Raelee asked.

"Don't worry about me," he said, looking down at her. She turned on her side and sighed. "What is it?"

"I feel like I've been a burden on you ever since we were little," she answered. Dally let out a short laugh.

"Whatever made you thinkt hat?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Well, you're always stuck watching over me instead of living your own life." Dally put a hand on her head, and the other on her shoulder.

"Don't ever think that, Raelee. You are my life. You are one of the few things I have ever cared about in this world. You mean absolutely everything to me, Rae." She looked back up at him. There was a glimmer of love in his cold eyes. He reached to her cheek and stroked it a few times. She smiled. "Now, go to sleep."

"Goodnight, Dally," she said, turning on her side again, and closing her eyes. Dallas Winston looked at his sister, then up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and remember something he hadn't thought about it years.

_**Flashback**_

"_Are you alright, my dears?" Dally and Rae's mother asked, kneeling down, next to her children. The two kids sat on the floor of their front room, in their New York home. Their father had just finished beating them. A beating for just existing. Raelee was smaller, and frailer, than her brother. She sustained the worst injuries. Their mother reached out to hug them both, but a loud shout came from above._

"_Don't pay attention to them, woman!" their father yelled, from upstairs. "They're nothing! Now, get up here!" The older woman sighed and looked at Dally._

"_Take care of your sister, Dallas, please," she whispered. He nodded. Their mother smiled the best she could, and then went upstairs to face her husband. Dally looked down at his sister. Her nose was bloody and there were two bruises already forming on her face. One on a cheek, the other around and eyes._

"_Are you alright, sis?"_

"_I'm so scared, Dally," little Rae said, her bottom lip starting to quiver._

"_It's alright for now. I'll protect you from now on." He pulled her into a hug. "Come on." He pulled himself and his little sister up to the couch and laid her down in the lap. "I won't let him hurt you anymore. Now, go to sleep." He watched as his injured sister fell asleep in his lap._

_**End Flashback**_

Dally opened his eyes and wiped the moisture forming around his eyes. Boy, if anyone saw this, he'd sure get an earful. He looked back down.

"I'm sorry for not keeping my promise, Rae," he whispered, more to himself than the sleeping form of his sister, laying in his lap. He stared at her for another few minutes, then reached over and switched off the lamp.

(A/N x 2: Ok, well, maybe it wasn't so bad.)


	15. And Back We Go Again

(A/n: I had to go out and buy a new notebook to continue my story. I don't like to write this story on regular notebook paper because I used to carry the old notebook around school and when I used loose paper, it got all mixed up. Binders are too big too. So, there. Sorry that it took a while. I just got out of Band Camp.)

**Chapter 15**

When Rae woke up that Sunday morning, Dally's lap wasn't under her head anymore. She wondered if he had gotten up just after she fell asleep. She took a look around the room. Someone was in the kitchen making breakfast. She could hear the sizzling sound from the pan. It was probably Darry. He usually went in to work late on Sundays. The shower was also running. Raelee pushed the blanket, that someone had spread over her, off and stood up. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen to indeed find Darry standing over the stove. He looked up at her when she entered the room. He gave her a small smile.

"Morning, Rae," he said. She nodded at him. "Would you like some eggs?"

"No, thank you. I'm not very hungry," she replied. "What time is it?" Darry looked at his watch.

"It's about a quarter until nine," he answered, then went back to the eggs. She walked out of the kitchen and back to the front room. By this time, the door to the bathroom stood wide open. Dally stood in front of the mirror, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, shaving. She stared at him. She was marveling, really. If he wasn't her brother, she would have totally dated him. He was built extremely well. He had a lot of muscle and was in great shape. She really thought he was handsome. He caught her staring at him out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at her.

"What?" he asked. All of the shaving cream was pretty much gone when he turned to look at her. Rae saw the scar on her brother's chest. The scar. She had almost forgotten. Somehow. He had gotten it a few years ago. "Rae?"

"Oh." She snapped out of her trance. "Nothing." She looked down at her clothes, the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday. "Could I get in there?"

"Yeah, sure," he said and left for Darry's room to get dressed. Rae grabbed some clothes and things out of the large duffel bag she had left there a few weeks ago. She went to the bathroom. After closing the door and turned the shower on, Raelee undressed and jumped into the tub. She noticed that the heaviness in her chest had gone away. A heaviness that had appeared when she started lying about Angela. It felt relieving. Relief. That was a new feeling. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that made Rae jump and almost fall over in the slippery tub. She regained balance.

"Yeah?" she yelled out.

"How long you gunna be, Rae?" Two-Bit's voice came through the door. How long had she been in there?

"I'll be right out!" she said and quickly finished up. She turned the water off, got out, and dried off. After putting on a tight-fitting long-sleeved thermal shirt, jeans, and socks, she picked up her brush and walked out of the steamy bathroom, brushing her hair. Rae looked at Two-Bit, who was sitting on the couch, sipping beer. "How long was I in there?"

"Ever since I came," her friend replied. "And I've been here for a while." She nodded and threw her brush back into her bag. Dally came into the room, from the kitchen, munching on some food, with his shirt wide open.

"What took you so long?" he asked after he swallowed.

"Sorry, I was thinking," she confessed.

"You shouldn't day dream so much," he brother said. "Your history teacher called to remind you about some report that's due tomorrow. He said that your grades have been dropping and if you didn't turn this in, you'd fail the class." Rae froze.

"Oh, god," she said, quietly, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Dally asked. Then he realized what it was. "Oh no. Definitely not. Can't you redo it?"

"No!" Rae exclaimed. "We had two months to do it. It took me a month just to research it!" Dallas sighed. "We have to go back to the house." He hesitated for a moment, but then reached to his back pocket to see if his knife was there. Then, we picked Rae's jacket up from the edge of the couch and handed it to her.

"Do not leave my sight," he commanded her. She nodded, solemnly. "We're going to go and come right back, got it?" Rae nodded again and took her jacket from his hand. She quickly slipped it on and followed her older brother out the front door. He walked briskly. She had a hard time keeping up with him. When they reached the driveway, he stopped and waited for his sister to catch up. "Just stay calm. If you panic, you'll provoke him. He feeds on our fears. That's why we were so vulnerable as kids." She looked up at Dally. She noticed his shirt was still open.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked. He looked down at his bare chest as if he just realized. He shrugged.

"Let's go." Dally started up the drive. She followed silently. Rae looked at the house, which had been her 'home' for years. It scared her. It had always given her chills. She hated it when she had to come home to it every night. "Don't worry, sis," Dal said, noticing her discomfort. "I'll protect you." She looked down at the ground and grabbed on to his arm. He looked down at her, his eyes gentle and understanding. He took his hand out of his jeans pocket and took her hand. She looked up at him in surprise. She smiled at him, though, and all of her fear disappeared.

When they reached the front door, Dally went in first, then pulled her to the back of the house, where her room was. When Rae was in the safety of her room, he stood just outside the door. She looked around. Nothing had changed in the few weeks she had been gone. Nothing looked disheveled. She went to a drawer in her nightstand and pulled out a report folder filled with paper.

"Alright," she said, walking back to her brother. She looked at something behind Dally and grabbed on to his shirt to warn him.


	16. Break In

(A/N: OMG! Two chapters in the same week? What is this? Haha. Don't worry. I'm just making up for all the other chapters I DIDN'T submit while I was at my dad's. This is a crazy chapter. After this chapter, I would say that this story is about half done. After this I will start going into where the story was originally going to start. I vowed I would actually finish this story. So, yeah. Well, anyway. Here ya go.

-puts on music and starts to type- GO GO POWER RANGERS!

I mean.

Is this the real life?

Or is it just fantasy?)

**Chapter 16**

Dally swung his body around at Rae's warning. Their father stood in front of him. Dally held his sister behind him.

"What do you think you're doing here, you little shits?" he asked. Rae peered around her brother. The older man was shielding his eyes from the light that was coming from the window. A hangover, she assumed.

"Go away," Dally commanded, angrily.

"Ordering me around again?" their father asked, touching the long scar on his son's chest. "Maybe I should remind you of the last time you did that." Dallas glared at his father and reached to his back pocket to get his switchblade. He pulled it out and had it open in a flash.

"Don't touch me or my sister." He held the knife up to the other man, who immediately backed off. Dally grabbed Rae's hand and left the house. She looked down at his hand, surprised. It was shaking. She looked back up at her brother's face. It showed no emotion except for anger. When they were outside the house, he put the knife back in his pocket. He tried to let go of her hand but she held on. He looked down at her.

"You're shaking," Rae said. Dally sighed and nodded. She'd never seen her brother so scared before. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his waist. She hugged him tightly. He looked down at her and hugged her back.

"Thanks, Rae," he whispered. Despite the cold, his chest was warm. She closed her eyes and smiled. Neither of them realized that their father was standing in the window, watching them. Finally, they let go of each other. "Want to go to The Dingo for a soda?" he asked after they separated.

"Sure!" she exclaimed. He smiled and ruffled her hair. She giggled and punched him.

"Is that all you got?" he asked. Rae kept giggling. They started on their way to the food joint.

Later that night, Rae said goodnight to the Curtis brothers and turned out the lamp that was on the table next to the couch. They had all gone to bed early since the next day was a school and work day. Dally had left and gone to Buck's house. She laid down and covered herself with a thick blanket. She closed her eyes. The front door opened. Rae just figured it was Steve, who usually showed up late after a fight with his dad. But apparently, she was wrong. Very wrong. Whoever it was, wrapped a hand around her neck, trying to choke her.

"If I have to kill you to make him miserable, I will," the voice of her father said. His daughter panicked under hiss grip and tried to sit up. He was too strong and held heer down. His hands tightened around her neck. Her eyes started to water. Rae wanted to yell out, but she couldn't. Instead, she started pounding on the side of the couch. "Stop it, you bitch!" he growled. With his free hand, he grabbed her arm and held it still.

"What's going on out there?" Soda's voice came from the hallway.

"Shit. Now look what you've done," Rae's father whispered. Soda came into the room and turned on the lamp on the far side of them room. Rae tried to gasp for air.

"What the hell?" Soda said, staring at the older man. Soda didn't usually curse. He ran to the other man and tried to pry his hand off of his friend. "Darry!" he yelled, while pulling Rae's father off of her. After Sodapop managed to get him off, her father backed up to the wall. Rae didn't sit up, but she was still conscious. Red finger marks started appearing on her neck. "Darry!" he yelled again for his older brother. He knelt down next to Rae. "Calm down, kid." Darry ran into the room, pulling a while t-shirt on.

"What's going-" He saw the older man in the room. "Get out!" he yelled. "Get out of here!" Rae's father bolted out the front door. When he was out of the house, Darry went over to his brother and Raelee. "How is she?" he asked, looking at the red marks on her neck.

"She's better, I think. She was gasping for air a few seconds ago," his younger brother replied. Darry sat on the edge of the couch. He looked down at his helpless looking friend. Rae hoisted herself up. "Maybe you shouldn't." She put a hand on her neck and winced. Darry took her hands away.

"Don't touch," he said. He held her hands tightly. They were shaking, violently. "It's alright now, Rae." He hugged her tightly and looked at his brother. "Go call Buck's. Tell Dally to get down here." Soda nodded and took off towards the kitchen. Darry held her close and stroked her hair. "You're fine now." Tears started to spill out her eyes, but she didn't make a sound and kept shaking. Sodapop came back into the room.

"Dally's going to borrow Buck's car. He'll be here in a few minutes." Soda sat on the floor and leaned against the couch. Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was the sound of a car engine outside. The sound suddenly stopped. A few seconds later, Dally burst through the door.

"What's going on?" he asked, loudly.

"What's all that noise?" Ponyboy called from his room.

"Nothing!" Darry yelled back. "Go back to sleep!" Then, he looked down at Rae, who was wide eyed, with streak marks down her cheeks, but not shaking as much. "Look, kid. Dal's here." Rae looked up at her brother. Dally walked over to his sister. Darry got up to let his friend sit down. When he was sitting, Rae grabbed on to him for dear life.

"What the hell?" Dallas said, looking down at his sister.

"We had a guest tonight who tried to strangle her. Three guesses as to who," Sodapop said. "I had to pry him off of the poor girl." Dally's expression changed to anger for the second time that day. He put his arms around her.

"She can't stay here anymore," he concluded. The door opened again. Steve Randle walked into the room, holding a bag of ice up against his cheek.

"Sorry for coming so-" He turned to see everyone by the couch. "What's wrong?" He walked over and saw Rae with looks of horror in her eyes. Soda stood up and whispered in his friend's ear. Steve looked at him in surprise, but nodded. He looked at Rae again, then turned and walked over to the door. It locked with a _click_.


	17. Bruises, Makeup, and Brothers

(A/n: Hey there. Another chapter done.

Uh, sorry, I lied. I said that after the last chapter that I would be starting to go into the stuff where the story was going to originally started…and that it was about half way down. Well, I thought of some new stuff and it won't start for another little while. But it will start soon. It'll start in the next weekend of the story, I promise. The story will really move along then. I can't wait!

Anyway, thanks to Anna, Jay, and all my other reviewers. You guys really keep me going )

**Chapter 17**

In the morning, a knock on the front door made Raelee snap wide awake. She sat up, her neck a little sore. Dally was sitting on the couch, asleep. She had picked up her head from his lap. Sodapop was asleep on the floor by the couch and Steve was in the armchair. She remembered Darry going back to his room after a while, but had everyone else stayed up with her? _Well, obviously_, she thought to herself. There was another knock on the door. She got off the couch and walked over to the door. Rae unlocked the door, opened it, and instantly put her hands over her neck. Two more of her friends stood there. Johnny was looking at the ground and Two-Bit was smiling at Johnny.

"Why was the door-" Two-Bit started. He stopped, staring now at his other friend.

"What's wrong, Rae?" Johnny asked, timidly. The look of horror hadn't gone away from last night. Her hands around her neck were also questionable. She knew that if she tried to hide it, they would be mad. Reluctantly, the poor girl took her hands away and let them drop to her sides. The boys stared for a moment.

"What the-"

"Please, Keith," Rae pleaded, wanting him to leave it. "Don't ask me right now." Two-Bit nodded. She moved so he and Johnny could enter the house. Two-Bit looked at her neck as he walked over to Sodapop.

"Hey, dude. Wake up!" he said, nudging the sleeping boy.

"Are you alright," Johnny asked, standing next to her, not trying to look at the injury.

"For now," she said, quietly. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. She put her hand over top of his and smiled, slightly. "I'm gonna go change." Rae grabbed some new clothes and went to the bathroom. When she emerged, a few minutes later, wearing a plain black baby-doll shirt and jeans, everyone else was up. Ponyboy was already dressed. Soda, Steve, and Darry were getting ready to leave. Pony looked at her for a second, taking note of her father's handiwork.

"What happened to your neck?" he asked. No one had told him yet.

"Later," she said. "I'll tell you later." He nodded and went about his business. Dally walked up to her.

"How are you to hide that?" he whispered to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll probably just flip up the collar of my jacket," she answered, quickly, as if she had already been thinking about it. Rae's older brother nodded.

"You'll have to wear it like that all day," he said. She nodded.

"I know. It's pretty cold in my school, anyway." Dally nodded again. Darry, Soda, and Steve started out the front door. Rae watched them, then turned back to her brother. "Where am I going to go tonight? I can't stay here."

"I'm not sure what's going to happen tonight, yet. For now, just come straight to Buck's place. I'll be there," he ordered. Before she could say anything about it, he handed over her jacket. "Now, get to school." She took the jacket and put it on. She flipped the collar up and grabbed her books. Dallas left Two-Bit, Pony, and Johnny in charge of his little sister. After a few minutes, they started their trek to school.

"Will you tell us now, Rae?" Ponyboy asked. She sighed. She didn't want to, but this was as good a time as any. Rae nodded. Two-Bit and Johnny both looked over at her, curiously. Apparently, no one had told them, either.

"My father came to visit last night, after everybody went to sleep," she started. The three boys exchanged glances with each other. "He, uh, tried to strangle me. I would be dead right now, if it weren't for Soda." The rest of the trip to school was silent. Carrie met them in the school parking lot. Rae left with the small girl. "Do you have your makeup with you, today?" she asked, walking towards the school.

"Yeah, sure. Why? You don't like makeup, do you?" Carrie asked, looking up at her friend.

"No, I don't. I'll explain in a minute. All I need if your foundation. Your complexion is close to mine, so it should be fine," Rae answered. The smaller girl nodded. "Let's go to the bathroom." Both girls entered the school and went straight to the bathroom that was only used by greaser girls. There wasn't anyone in there yet, but other girls would be there soon, to skip class. Carrie took her foundation out of her bag and handed it to Raelee. "Thanks." She set the makeup on the side of a sink and flipped down her collar. Carrie gasped at the mark.

"What happened?" she asked, loudly. Rae applied the makeup and the marks disappeared.

"My father tried to strangle me last night."

"Oh my god," Carrie said, quietly. The taller girl handed the makeup back to her friend.

"Would you walk with me after school? I have to meet my brother somewhere and don't have anyone to walk with," Rae asked, making sure the makeup was even. She was trying to get away from the subject.

"Yeah, sure, but we'll have to hurry. I'm meeting my brother at his place today," Carrie replied. They both grabbed their books and started for class.

"Don't worry. This place isn't very far away."

Nothing much happened during the rest of the school day. Rae turned her history project in. The project which ultimately almost ended her life. She decided to stay at the school for lunch instead of going out with the boys. She stayed and had lunch in the cafeteria with Carrie. After school, Raelee said goodbye to the gang and left with her other friend. They were about halfway there before they started conversation.

"This is the way to my brother's house, Rae. Where are we going, exactly?" the small girl asked. Her friend pointed to a house that was just a few minutes off. Carrie couldn't see that far. She needed glasses. She'd just wait until they got closer. The two girls walked for another couple of minutes and crossed a main road. "Huh." Rae didn't hear her. She went up and knocked on the door. A guy, a little older than Dally, opened the door.

"Yeah?" he said, in his deep voice.

"Dally's expecting me," she said, a little timidly.

"Right," Buck said. "He said you were coming." He looked behind her to see who the other girl was. His somber face brightened up a little. "Carrie." The small girl smiled.

"Hey, bro."

(A/n x 2: Yes, I am making Carrie Buck's sister, since I never mentioned a last name, I don't think. I was watching the movie while writing. I always get really good ideas while watching the movie. I wrote down more than half of a page of things to include in the future chapters. One of them was Carrie being Buck's sister. Anyway, I'm working on Chapter 18 already. 3)


	18. Work

(A/n: Sorry that it's been so long, guys! I've been so busy with my last year of high school marching band. It went out with a bang and I had a lot of fun this year. Hopefully I'll have more time now to write! Enjoy!)

**Chapter 18**

Dally came down the stairs that led to the rooms above the bar. He heard commotion downstairs and thought it might be his sister. Buck was standing in the door, talking to a couple of teenage girls. One just happened to be his sister. The other one, he didn't know.

"This is a small world," Rae said. "You're friends with my brother and I'm friends with your sister."

"Are you going to make us stand out here all day?" Carrie asked her brother. Buck instantly moved out of the way.

"I'll go see if Dally is up," he said and turned for the stairs.

"I'm up," Dallas said, leaning against the wall. Rae looked over at him. "Hey, kid."

"Hey, Dal," his sister said. Carrie was standing next to her, checking him out. "Oh, this is Carrie, my classmate, friend, and apparently Buck's sister." He nodded towards the smaller girl.

"You girls can drop your books in the kitchen," Buck said. Carrie nodded and took Raelee to the back of the house. "That's your sister?" he asked, looking over at his younger friend.

"Yeah," Dally said, watching his sister leave the room. Laughter broke out from the kitchen. "You wouldn't know about the shit she's gone through I the past few weeks if you took one look." He looked down at his feet. "She tries to stay calm and happy. You wouldn't ever tell that she's faking it all the time." Buck nodded. Dallas had told him all about what had happened to the poor girl. The two girls came back, smiling. Rae looked at her older brother.

"Do you know where I'm going tonight, Dally?" she asked. Oh, crap. Dally hadn't even thought about that yet. He'd been sleeping until the girls had gotten there. He shook his head.

"Well, why doesn't she stay with me for a while?" Carrie offered. "My mom and dad won't care." He nodded, considering it.

"I guess that would be cool," Dallas said. "Give me your address so I can come see her." The smaller girl nodded and went off to get some paper and a pen. Buck went off on his own business. "Come here," he said to his sister, when they were alone. Rae walked up to Dally, who put a hand on her neck, then wiped the makeup off.

"Carrie had some foundation I could use," she explained to her older brother. The small girl came back into the room and handed Dally a torn piece of paper with her address.

"Thanks," he said, taking it and stuffing it into his pocket. Carrie nodded. "When are you going home, kid?"

"I'm going to be working here, for my brother, until about eight," she responded. "The bar opens at four."

"Raelee, you could work here too," Buck said, walking back into the room. "It would give you something to do while waiting. I need another girl, anyway. My last two girls quit. The job pays about $1.45 and hour." Rae smiled and looked at her brother. Dally shrugged and nodded.

"Go for it, kid. If it'll keep you away from him…"

"Thanks, bro!" She exclaimed and almost knocked him over while jumping on him.

"I asked Carrie ro come over early today, though, so we could get something for her to wear," Buck said. "Why don't you come too, Rae?"

"Sure," she said. "When do you want to go?"

"Now, if you're ready." Rae nodded. Dally dug his hand in his jeans pocket. He pulled out some bills and counted them.

"All I got right now is $25," he said, holding it out to his sister.

"It's cool, dude," Buck said, grabbing his jacket. "I got this one." Dally shrugged, but Buck knew he was grateful.

"Whatever," he said and stuffed the money back in his pocket.

"We're going to take the car," Buck said, pulling his jacket on. "Sorry, Dal." The other boy nodded. Buck led his sister and Rae outside.

"So, what do you have I mind for uniforms, bro?" Carrie asked, hopping into the back seat with her friend.

"Don't know," he replied. "My last girls wore mini-skirts. That's all I got. It's really up to you girls." Rae looked at Carrie. She hated the word skirt…Oh well.

"What kind of shirt?" Rae asked. Buck looked at her through the mirror.

"The shirt you have on now isn't too bad. Babydoll, right?" She nodded. "Maybe something with a little design, though. I don't know."

"Where are we going, by the way?" Carrie asked.

"Just to the local clothing store," her brother responded. A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a nice store. It wasn't run-down and dirty like all the other stores on that side of time. But it wasn't Soc material, either. All three got out of the car and went into the store. Buck stood by the door while the girls went in and searched through all the clothes. Rae didn't like anything in particular because it was mostly skirts, but Carrie pushed some minis and shirts at her.

"What about these black jean minis, Rae?" Carrie asked. "What do you think?"

"I think they're ok," Rae responded. Carrie knew she didn't like skirts much. "Lets go try these on and get it over with." Buck smiled at that comment. The two girls went and tried their matching clothes on.

"This isn't so bad, Rae," Carrie said, slipping her pants off and skirt on.

"Yeah I guess," her friend replied. When they finished, they showed Buck, who liked the outfits. Black jean mini-skirts, and light blue babydoll tee-shirts. They quickly went and changed back into their normal clothes. Buck paid for the outfits and they all left to go back to the bar.


	19. Incident At The Bar And Carrie's House

**Chapter 19**

A few hours later, Rae and Carrie were back in their new outfits. Buck had shown them the ropes around the bar. They picked it up easily; it wasn't hard to learn. The bar opened and men and women piled in. The two girls were kept plenty busy. Dally came down around six, fully clothed. He sat down in an empty chair at the bar. Rae was behind the counter, wiping the surface off. She was looking down and didn't notice him sit down.

"Hey, kid," he said, after watching her for a few seconds. She looked up and smiled.

"Hey, bro," she said.

"Gimme a Coke, would ya?" he asked. She nodded and reached down under the counter to get him what he wanted. She pulled it up, set it down, and opened it for him. "Thanks." He took a sip.

"Hey, honey!" a man yelled from the other side of the room. "Mind gettin' me another beer?" he asked her, already drunk. She nodded and immediately grabbed a bottle. Rae popped it open and ran over to the man. She dropped it on the table and started to walk away. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into his lap. She noticed that he wasn't particularly attractive, and he was really drunk. "Why don't you come home with me tonight, sweetheart?" The teenager's eyes got wide and she struggled to get away. The man wouldn't let go.

"Please," she begged, quietly. He laughed at her. He could tell she was uncomfortable. It seemed to turn him on. He wouldn't let her go. Dally grumbled under his breath and stood up. But, before he could get over to his sister, Carrie walked up and slapped the man.

"Let her go or you'll have to leave," she said, loudly. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the scene. The older man frowned, but let Rae's wrist go immediately. "Thank you." The smaller girl grabbed her friend's hand and helped her up. Rae gave Carrie a grateful glance and walked back to the counter. She wouldn't look Dally in the eye. He watched her for a few minutes. It looked like she wanted to cry. She was holding it in. It wouldn't be good for her in the long run. Dally stayed there to watch over things until they got off of work.

At 8, Rae and Carrie both went upstairs to change back into their jeans. They left their uniforms up there, grabbed their books, and headed out. They said goodbye to Buck and met Dally at the door.

"I'm gunna walk you guys home," Dally announced as they were going out the door. He let the girls go out first and then closed to door behind him. As they were walking, he pulled Raelee back to walk with him. "Are you sure you want to work there? I mean…things that happened tonight will happen all the time." Rae smiled and nodded.

"I know," she said. "But, I'm going to have to get used to the way society acts sooner or later, whether I like it or not. He shouldn't have full control of my life." Dally stared at his sister for a few moments, completely silent. He knew she was right. Even though she was younger, he had to admire her for sticking to what she believed. No doubt, she was scared out of her wits, 24/7. She barely ever showed it, and whether she was scared or not, she pushed forward. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking up at him. He snapped out if it.

"Uh, nothing," he answered, looking away from her. She shrugged it off and went back up with Carrie.

"What was that all about," she asked, quietly.

"He just wanted to ask me a question," Rae responded, with a shrug. "How much farther?"

"Not far," Carrie said, pointing to the street ahead. Her friend nodded.

"Oh, Rae," Dally said, catching up with the two girls. "Would it kill you to wear the same clothes tomorrow?" His sister shook her head. "Okay, good. I'll leave some clothes for you at Buck's tomorrow."

"Thanks," she said. A few minutes later, they arrived at Carrie's front door.

"Alright, I'll probably see you at Buck's tomorrow," Dallas said, before leaving them alone. Rae nodded.

"Alright, see ya." With that, he turned to leave. He took one step down from the front porch and stopped. He looked at the ground for a moment, then spun around. "What's-" He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Both girls looked surprised. Rae's eyes were wide. After a few seconds, she smiled and hugged him back. Carrie looked at Rae and pointed at the door. Her friend nodded. The smaller girl opened the door and went ahead inside. Dally finally let go, after about two minutes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "Thanks." She smiled, again, and nodded. "I should probably go. You need to go do your homework and get some sleep." He turned to leave again. He was all the way down the steps when his sister said something, quietly to his back.

"I love you, Dally," she almost whispered. He stopped, having heard her. He smiled.

"You too, kid." With that, he ran off into the darkness. Raelee watched until she couldn't see him anymore. Then, she went inside. Carrie was standing in the front room, with her mother.

"Hi, I'm Raelee Winston," the teenager said, extending her hand to the older woman, who smiled warmly and accepted her hand.

"My mom said that you can stay here as long as you need!" Carrie exclaimed. Rae smiled as well. All three talked for a few minutes, then Carrie's mother left the room.

"You didn't tell her about my father, did you?" Rae asked. Her friend shook her head.

"I wouldn't unless you told me to," the smaller girl stated.

"Thanks," Rae said, gratefully. "You're a great friend."

"Hey," Carrie started. "I wouldn't ever betray you, friend or not. It is a lot easier being your friend, though…" Rae giggled. "What about some dinner?"

"Yeah, sure! I'm starved!" Both girls went to the kitchen and got some food. Raelee found out how great a cook Carrie's mother was. After dinner, the two girls went to Carrie's room.

"I hope our friendship will stay intact forever."

"Me too, Carrie. It's a lot easier having people with you than against you," Rae said. Her friend nodded. "Alright, goodnight." The two girls laid down and fell asleep quickly, after a hard day's work.


	20. Carrie's Boyfriend

(A/N: Heyy guys! Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy trying not to fail some classes and being upset about boys. But don't worry! I am okay! I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I have a day off today and I'm not going to leave my laptop until I submit this chapter. I made it to Chapter 20!!

Oh yeah, and I did a major renovation of Chapter 1. A lot of it is different. I think it's better now. The reason is explained in an Author's Note there. So…go read it and tell me what ya think!)

**Chapter 20**

On Tuesday morning, Rae woke up with a start. She looked up and saw Carrie standing over her. She squinted from the light streaming in from the window.

"What is it?" Raelee asked her friend.

"It's time to get ready for school!" Carrie exclaimed. Rae had no idea how that girl was so awake so early. She got out of bed and followed her friend into the front of the house. Her mother was in the kitchen, making breakfast for the girls.

"Good morning, girls. Sleep well?" the older woman asked when they walked into the room. Rae nodded but Carrie answered enthusiastically. They both sat down at the small, round kitchen table.

"Are you usually so perky in the morning?" Rae asked her friend with a yawn. Carrie nodded. Her mother walked over to them, holding two plates and some silverware. She set everything down. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome!" Rae and Carrie ate their breakfast silently, then went to go get dressed. Rae took a quick shower before putting the clothes she wore the day before back on. Carrie offered her some clothes, but her clothes would have been to small. After the shower, Raelee stood in front of the mirror in Carrie's room.

"You don't have lice, do you?" she asked her small friend, who was sitting on her bed, putting on some black eyeliner with a handheld mirror.

"No, go ahead and use it," she answered without looking up. Rae picked up the brush that was sitting on Carrie's nightstand and brushed her wet hair out. When Carrie was finished, she looked at her clock. "We have to leave, Rae." The bigger girl nodded and set the brush down. They both left the room.

"Have a good day, girls. I'll see you tonight!"

"Bye!" the two teenagers exclaimed in unison as they grabbed their books and walked out the door. They had an engaging conversation about random things on the way to the school. When they got there, they found Two-Bit, Ponyboy, and Johnny hanging outside the school. A little mousy boy was standing with them, laughing at their jokes. He was a little shorter than Johnny with hair almost the same color as Rae's. He was scrawny, wearing tight jeans, white t-shirt, a jean jacket, and black All Stars. Carrie's face lit up when she saw this boy. Rae smiled and shoved her friend's shoulder, gently. The small girl blushed a little. The girls reached the group of boys.

"So, Car, who is this?" Rae asked.

"Stephen," he said, holding out his hand. The taller girl took it and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she said. They released each other's hands. The bell rang a few seconds later and they all hurried inside to their classes. Nothing much happened through the course of the day. They had morning classes. The Socs blew spitballs at the Greasers and the Greasers back at the Socs. The boys and Rae went out to the DX for lunch, as usual. Carrie and Stephen stayed and ate in the cafeteria. After school, the boys walked with Carrie and Rae to Carrie's house, then left them to do homework and stuff. Around 3:45 they took off for Buck's bar and arrived not too long later. Dally wasn't there yet, but by the time the two girls changed and came back downstairs to get ready for the night customers, he had shown up with a bag of clothes for his sister. When the girls' work began, Dally sat at the bar again until they got off work. Then, he walked them home, like the night before. Once he left, Carrie turned to Rae.

"Ready?" the smaller girl asked her friend.

"Ready? Ready for what?" Rae asked, confused.

"Oh, I didn't tell you about the party?" Carrie asked. Rae shook her head. "Oh, yeah. Stephen's older brother is holding a party and we've been invited!"

"On a Tuesday night? Isn't that a bit weird?" the taller girl asked.

"Don't you remember? We don't have school tomorrow!" Rae didn't pay much attention to the school calendar.

"What for?"

"Oh, some staff development thing or whatever," Carrie replied. The other girl shrugged.

"I suppose I'm ready. It's not like we've gotta get up early or anything," Rae said, with a smile. She didn't really want to go but she didn't want to spoil Carrie's fun. The two girls told Carrie's mother that they were going to go to a friend's house and ran out the door before the older woman could ask any questions. When they got to the house, Stephen was standing on the porch, waiting for them.

"Hey, guys!" he exclaimed when he saw them coming up the steps. Carrie smiled, brightly.

"Hey!" she said, with an equal amount of excitement.

"Come on in!" the scrawny boy said and led them through the front door. The atmosphere quickly changed from clear and crisp outside to smoky and stuffy inside. Rae was used to it, but she didn't like it very much. She coughed a couple of times and then was fine. Before they were halfway into the split foyer, there was a loud crash, which came from the living room, just up the stairs. Stephen whispered a curse. Then, he skipped the stairs going up. Rae and Carrie quickly followed. The three pushed their way through the large group of people standing around, watching. Rae froze when she saw what was happening. There was a fight unfolding in front of their eyes. Everyone started cheering.

"Isn't that your brother, Stephen?" Carrie asked her boyfriend, loudly, trying to be heard over the music and the cheering. The boy nodded.

"Eric!" he hollered over the music. His older brother looked up for a second then got punched in the stomach. Rae watched the fight.

"He's getting the shit beat out of him!" Rae yelled at Carrie, who nodded.

"I wonder who that other boy is! I've never seen him before. He doesn't look any older than us, though," Carrie said, back at her friend. Rae nodded as well.

"He does look sort of familiar to me, though," she said. "But, I can't get a good look at his face." Carrie shrugged. The two boys fought for another good five minutes. Finally, Eric's opponent slammed Eric into the wall. Eric slid down the wall to the floor. The other boy went up to him and gave him a hand.

"You may be younger, kid, but you sure got some muscle!" Eric said as he was hoisted up by the victor. The boy turned towards the direction Rae and her friends stood in. Her jaw about dropped when she saw his face. He looked directly at her and froze in surprise.

"Rae?"

"What are you doing here, Curly?"


	21. Meetings

**Chapter 21**

"You know him?!" Stephen and Carrie both exclaimed, turning to Rae. She nodded as Curly made his way over to the three.

"Yeah," Rae answered. When he got over to them, she looked at the other two. "Carrie, Stephen…this is Curly Shepard. My boyfriend." Carrie's jaw dropped.

"This is him?!" she exclaimed to her friend. Rae giggled and nodded. She turned back to her boy and gave him a rather large hug and a kiss.

"I haven't seen you in a while!" Rae said. "Where've you been?"

"I've just been trying to help manage the gang over on our turf. Tim's strong and a good leader, but some of the members are acting up and starting fights inside the gang. We've been trying to get it all back in order," Curly answered. She nodded. Then he bent over and whispered in her ear. "Let's go outside. I want to talk to you, okay?" She nodded again. He took her by the hand and led her through the crowd and out to the front porch.

"What did you wanna talk about?" Rae asked him. He said down on the top step and offered the space next to him to her. She said down.

"So…how's it going with…your dad?" He asked, quietly. She hesitated. He still didn't know she'd almost been strangled just says earlier. She didn't want to tell him that, but he'd find out one way or another.

"He…the only reason I'm staying with Carrie right now is because…I need to hide," she started. Curly gave her a confused look. "He…uh…found me one night. At the Curtis'. And they usually keep their doors unlocked. He came in and tried to strangle me. I have bruises on my neck, but I've covered them with Carrie's makeup. They'll probably disappear soon."

"What?!" Curly almost yelled. Raelee looked down and nodded. "Jesus…why won't he just leave you alone?" She shrugged.

"I don't know…I really don't. But for now I'm safe," she said, sadly. Curly looked down at her and sighed.

"I'm so sorry you've gotten into all this, Rae." He put his hand on his forehead.

"It's not your fault, Curly." He just shrugged. The door behind them opened. They both turned and saw Eric standing there, holding two cups.

"It looks like you guys could use these," he said. Rae looked at his face. He looked a lot like Stephen, but with a black eye forming, and obviously older. His features were quite attractive. He handed the cups to the couple. Rae eyes it suspiciously. "It's just beer, kid." He sat down in a porch chair that was sitting by them. "So, this is her, huh, Curly? The girl you're always talking about." Curly nodded and Rae blushed, but neither boys noticed.

"Yeah, this is Raelee Winston," he replied.

"Wow, this is a small world. Dallas's little sister, huh?" Eric asked her.

"Yeah, how do you know Dally?" she asked him after taking a sip of the beer he had given her.

"We're old buddies. We went to school together from when you guys moved here until he just stopped coming," he said. Rae nodded. "And now I'm a senior and he doesn't have anything to show for his hard work in his earlier years."

"To be completely honest, I don't think he ever worked really hard at school," Rae said with a giggle. Eric shrugged.

"He always used to work hard while in class. I guess he just never brought that home," he said, with a smile. "Tell him I said 'hi', okay?" She nodded. "Thanks, hon." He stood up, but before he could get to the door, Stephen came out.

"Hey, Rae, Carrie's looking for you," he said. He looked over at his brother. "Oh, hey, Eric. Nice fight earlier tonight." Eric looked back at Rae.

"You know my brother, too?" he asked.

"Yeah, it really is a small world, huh? Carrie and I have been friends for a few years and she just recently introduced me to Stephen," she answered. Stephen looked at the two, confused. She looked at the smaller boy. "Don't worry about it." He shrugged and Rae followed him inside to Carrie.

"It's almost time to go," Rae's friend said when the two reached her. "Mom said be home by 10:30 and it's almost 10:15 now." The taller girl nodded.

"Alright, then let's say our goodbyes." Rae started heading back outside where Curly and Eric were still talking. Carrie followed, pulling Stephen with her. When Rae was outside, she gave Curly a hug. He held her tightly, for a minute.

"I'll see you later, alright?" he said, quietly. She nodded and looked up at him. He kissed her and then let go. She turned to Eric and he held out a hand.

"Great meeting you, Raelee," he said as she took his hand.

"Rae's fine." He nodded and they released each other's hands. Carrie and Stephen were off in their little corner of the porch saying their private goodbyes. Finally, the small girl let go of her boy and joined Rae.

"Drop by anytime, Rae. And I'll see you later, Carrie," Eric said.

"Yup, bye, Eric!" Carrie exclaimed. Rae nodded and the two girls took off. They walked silently for the first few minutes.

"Oh, what's Stephen and Eric's last name?" Rae asked, trying to break the silence.

"Curtz," her friend replied in one word.

"Thanks…"

The two girls finally reached Carrie's house. They were greeted warmly by her mother. For a while, Rae and Carrie watched TV while drinking soda. Around midnight, they both threw away their empty soda bottles and changed into their pajamas. Then, they both laid down. Carrie was out like a light almost instantly. Rae stared up at the ceiling, which she really couldn't see because it was pitch black in the room.

_What's going to become of me?_ she wondered. _Maybe I should consider going to a foster home for a while, until they can sort this mess out and get my father behind bars…_Then, she slapped herself on the head. _What am I thinking?! If I do that, I may never come back. I can't put my brother and friends in that sort of situation…Why did any of this happen in the first place?_ Tears starting forming in her eyes while she thought of the past few weeks. _What the hell did I ever do to him? _The words "accident child" appeared in her head. He had said those words that night…_ If he didn't want another child, then why the hell am I here? Why didn't they just get an abortion? It wouldn't have been that…_Dally's face flashed in her head. Was it something her brother had done? Rae didn't know. She grew tired from thinking so much and finally fell asleep.

(A/N: Goodness…two chapters in a day. I think after this chapter I'm going to start bringing in the stuff that I had originally written to be the start of the story. This was originally gunna be a shorter story…can you imagine? Anyway…yeah. Have fun!)


	22. Should She Fight?

(A/n will be at the bottom this time)

**Chapter 22**

The rest of the week passed by without any major incident. On Wednesday, Carrie went back over to Stephen's and Rae walked alone to the Curtis house, and then got scolded by just about everyone who was older for walking by herself. That day happened to be Ponyboy's birthday. They all went out and celebrated for his 14th. Thursday, they went back to school and the two girls went to work. On Friday, it rained heavily most of the day, but Rae went home with Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit. The girls didn't have to work Friday-Sunday nights. Buck had two other girls for the weekends. Raelee made dinner for the Curtis', herself, and Dally. Two-Bit and Johnny left around 5. Her brother showed up with Soda and Darry, around 6, when the two boys came back from work.

"Hey, what smells so good?" Soda yelled from the front room when he got through the door. Rae poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Rae! This is a surprise!" Darry said.

"Hi, Darry!" she said in a cheerful voice. "And I'm making lasagna for dinner."

"Wow, it's nice to see you being so cheerful!" Sodapop said, with a smile. Dally pulled Darry aside to another room while Rae went back to making dinner. They closed the door to Darrel's room and sat down.

"Do you think we should take her to the rumble tonight?" Dally asked his older friend. He knew it was ultimately up to himself, but he should ask what the eldest of the three brothers thought.

"I'm not entirely sure. She might get beat up pretty bad," Darry answered.

"Yeah, as if she hasn't gotten beaten up enough lately, right?" Dally sighed.

"But," Darry said, quickly. "This might be a chance for Rae to get all of her built in emotions out. She hasn't properly expressed them, yet."

"Yeah," Dallas agreed. "All of these smiles and cheerful attitudes are fake, no doubt." Darry nodded in agreement.

"So, what are you going to do?" Darrel asked. "You'll have to decide quickly."

"Let's eat dinner. By the end of that, I'll have made my decision," Dally concluded. Darry nodded. The two boys stood up and left the room. They went out into the front room just as Rae was coming out to tell everyone that dinner was ready. They all went into the small dining room and started eating.

"This is great, Rae! I didn't know you could make lasagna," Ponyboy said. She smiled and nodded. When they all finished, Rae and Soda took the dishes into the kitchen and started washing them. When they were done, Darry called everyone into the front room. He had the younger ones sit on the couch.

"Dally and I have made up our decision about the rumble tonight," he said. He turned to Dally, who stood next to him.

"We've decided to go ahead and take you guys out. So, you'd better hurry and get ready," Dallas commanded. All three teenagers hopped off the couch and scurried away. Soda went to his and Ponyboy's room to change out of his work clothes and into a white t-shirt, flannel shirt, and jeans. When Soda was done, Ponyboy went in and grabbed himself a zip up sweatshirt. Raelee went with him.

"You got a jean vest or something I can borrow? I got a long sleeved shirt on and I don't want to get too hot if I put on a jacket," she asked her younger friend.

"Yeah, sure. No problem," he answered and went to a chest of drawers over on the far side of the room. He went through a drawer and finally pulled out a vest, that had formerly been a jacket. The arms had been torn or cut off. He threw it to her and closed the drawer. Rae caught it and slipped it on.

"Thanks." Ponyboy nodded. They both went back into the front room. Dally stood by the front door, with his head out the screen door.

"It stopped raining. It should be nice and muddy," he said and pulled his head back in.

"Alright, kids. Let's get out of here," Darry said. He went out the door, followed by his brothers. Rae started to follow, but her brother grabbed her by the collar of the vest, which caught her by surprise.

"If anything happens, all you have to do is call me," he assured his little sister. Rae smiled.

"I know," she said. "Let's go." He nodded and followed her out of the house, closing the door behind him. They ran to catch up with the other boys, who were already halfway down the street. About halfway there, Two-Bit and Steve tackled them. Johnny quietly came up behind them. When they got to the park, Tim's gang and the Brumly boys were already there, as usual. Curly and his brother stood next to each other, in front of their group. The leader of the Brumly gang, Jack Marx, stood next to Tim, mumbling to him. They both looked up when the other gang showed up. Both Tim and Jack stepped forward to shake hands with Darry. The gangs intermingled with each other. Rae stayed close to Tim, Dally, and Curly. After ten minutes, the Socs still hadn't showed up. The Greasers started to believe that they had been stood up until they saw car headlights slowly make their way to the park. The Socs parked their cars and piled out of them, carrying beer bottles, as usual. There were twice as many of them as there were greasers. Did they even have a chance?

Randy Adderson, Bob Shelton, and a Varisty Football Captain walked up to the three gang leaders. They stared at each other for a minute. Except for Bob. He was eyeing Raelee. He obviously hadn't forgotten about the time she had accidently run into him at the skating rink. She tried to ignore him but she couldn't help herself. She kept her head forward but watched him out of the corner of her eyes. Suddenly, though, Dally rammed, head-first, into one of the bigger Socs standing behind the leaders. Then, everyone went at it. All of the boys were fighting around her. She and Bob were the only ones standing still. After a few seconds, his lips curled into a smirk.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl," he yelled over all the noise. She smiled as well.

"I don't expect you to, white trash!" she replied, after backing away a few feet She didn't want to be too close to him. Then, she spit on the ground. His smirk stayed a smirk, as if he didn't care that she had just called him a bad name.

"And especially don't expect me to go easy on you because your daddy raped you, little girl."

(A/n: Well, guys. Here's 22. Hehe. This is pretty much where the story was originally going to start. It would've been much shorter then, no? The talk about whether Rae should fight was going to be the start. Of course, a lot of it's been changed because I wrote it like...a long time ago, it seems. But, I'm glad I decided to start at the rape because now you know a lot of her and stuff. Oh, and you'll find out how Bob found out about the rape later, so don't worry.)


	23. The Rumble

(A/n: Ick! My mom just made one of those microwavable frozen dinners and it smells nasty. Oh well…I'm on a roll lately!)

**Chapter 23**

Rae froze. And it wasn't from the wind. Her eyes widened. She stared at her opponent in shock. A chill ran up her spine. When he saw her reaction, his smirk, if possible, got bigger. _What did he just say?! How did he find out?!_

"W…what?" she stuttered. She'd been doing that a lot lately.

"You heard me, greaseball," he said. She broke from her trance and clenched her teeth. Angry tears formed in her eyes. It was then she realized that there had been no mention of no weapons. Rae slipped her hand in her back pocket and pulled out her blue-handled switchblade. She flicked it open and let the engraved blade shine off of the streetlamp, not far away. Bob shielded his eyes from the shine and pulled out his own knife. "Come on, little girl, if you think you can take me."

"You…asshole!" she yelled and lunged at him. He moved, trying to get out of the way, but obviously not enough because she gave him a small slice on the right arm, which cut through his shirt. He pulled back and looked down at his shirt. His smile disappeared when he saw the tear.

"Oh, that's it," Bob growled. He didn't actually think she'd be able to cut him. That shirt cost more than her life did. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration but it didn't matter. He looked back up at Raelee and glared. He was serious now. "Now, you're going to get it." The girl played on the defensive for minutes, trying to tire him as he attacked, but only tired herself trying to move fast. She blocked every attack until the moment that she moved too slowly and his blade sunk into her left shoulder. She gasped, and bit her toungue, hard, so she wouldn't scream. Bob pulled the knife out, quickly, and backed away. Rae fell on her knees, into the mud. Blood started spilling out of the wound and all down the sleeve of her long sleeved-shirt. Some of it stained the vest Ponyboy had lent her. She closed her knife and stick in back into her pocket with her good arm. The older boy, who thought her beaten, slowly walked up to her and put a hand under her chin. He lifted her head up so she was looking at him. "See? That's what you get for messing with a Soc."

"Save it," Rae mumbled.

"I'm sorry, grease. What was that?"

"I said, 'Save it!'" she yelled. She stood and punched him in the stomach with her right arm in one movement. The force made him fall to the ground. Quickly, Rae kicked the knife out of Bob's hand. But it didn't go too far away. While she was doing this, he grabbed a handful of mud and threw it up into her face. A bit got into her eyes and she backed away, holding her hands up to her eyes. He stood up and, in a swift motion, had her hands behind her back. Mud dripped down her cheeks and she couldn't see.

"Dally!" she screamed. Bob managed to punch her in the nose from behind and she felt it crack out of place. A few seconds later, it started to bleed down her face. She couldn't breathe, so she had to open her mouth and after a few seconds had to spit out the blood that had gotten into her mouth.

"Don't yell for your mighty protector," he whispered in her ear. "If you're a good little girl, you won't get hurt anymore." She stopped squirming and went silent. A few seconds later, Dally had Bob off of his sister and on the ground again. Bob was taken by surprise. He didn't even see the tough Greaser coming.

"Don't even think about it, scum!" Dally yelled at the boy he had just tackled to the ground. He left Bob there and walked over to his sister and inspected her injuries. "This looks bad," he said, holding up her left arm. She winced when he lifted it.

"It's deep," Rae said. He put her arm down at her side, gently. She started wiping the mud out of her eyes so she could see better. It stung, but she would get over it.

"We'll have to get it bandaged up when we get back to the Curtis house," Dal said. "Just don't pass out from loss of blood, kid. It's bleedin' pretty bad." She look down at her arm. The whole sleeve, front and back was already covered in blood. She wiped her nose off. The blood flow from there had decreased significantly. Blood had dripped down the front of her shirt. _Looks like this shirt will be trashed in the morning…_

"Your fight with me isn't over yet, Greaser," Bob said, now standing. Dallas looked down at his sister.

"Stay here, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," she answered with a nod. Dally left his sister and went back over to the Soc.

"Bring it, ass-wipe!" Dally shouted. Rae looked around. Some of the Socs had started to retreat. But, a bunch of the Greasers were on the ground too. She counted off her friends. Steve had just won a fight with a Soc. Ponyboy was getting beaten up pretty bad, as usual. Darry was trying to get his little brother's opponent off of him. Soda was in the middle of a fight. Two-Bit was taking a break and leaning up against a trashcan. He had a cut on his forehead that was bleeding down the side of his face. A bruise had started forming on a cheek already. Johnny was fighting a small one, as usual. He was a good man in a rumble, but after he got beat up… Curly and Tim had ganged up on some big football player boy in a Letterman jacket. Tim had a bloody nose and Curly only had a black eye starting to form.

"Let's go!" Bob yelled. Rae shifted her attention back to the fight between her brother and the boy who had beaten her up.

"Come on, Soc!" Dally yelled back, taunting the other boy. "If you think you can take this!" She saw Bob go for her brother, but that was it. Two boys grabbed Rae from behind and threw her to the ground. She looked up at them.

"You cowards!" she yelled. "Two boys on one girl!" They didn't care. One of them grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to her feet.

"Do you think we would really care about a Greaser girl's well-being?" he asked. He pushed her back and let go of her collar. She stumbled back a few steps and landed on the other boy. He grabbed her shoulders to keep her still. She winced when he stuck his hand on her cut and squeezed. They both smiled.

"Not so strong are you, girl?" the one holding her asked. The one boy who stood in front of her punched her in the stomach. "Knock her out, dude!" With that, he punched her in the head. The boy holding her dropped her arms and Rae slumped down to the ground. Dally ran over and punched both of them. They ran off. Dal knelt down by his sister.

"Rae? Rae, wake up!"


	24. Headaches and Switchblades

**Chapter 24**

When Rae opened her eyes, the sun was shining through the window. It made her head hurt. Her shoulder, which had been bandaged up, was hurting. At first, she couldn't remember what had happened, but after a few seconds, it started coming back. They'd been in a rumble. She had fought Super-Soc Bob Shelton. He got her in the shoulder and threw mud in her eyes. Dally fought him. Two guys grabbed her and one of them punched her in the stomach and the head. Now she knew why her head hurt. And it made her stomach sick. She didn't think they'd hit her that hard. She heard someone get up and shifted her eyes to see who it was. Ponyboy had gotten up and headed towards the kitchen. Was she at the Curtis' house?

"Hey, it looks like someone's finally awake!" Sodapop Curtis exclaimed. She moved her head so she could see everyone, who was either sitting in a chair or on the floor. She was on the couch. "How ya feeling, kid?" Raelee started to sit up.

"You probably shouldn't get up," Two-Bit said, sitting up against the side of the armchair that Darry was sitting in. She put a hand over her mouth as soon as she was sitting up. Her head was throbbing, which was sending transmissions down to her stomach, which was rolling. "You okay, Rae?" She held up her index finger, trying to say, 'Hold on a minute' and run to the bathroom. Maybe getting up wasn't such a good idea. Steve was standing in the bathroom with the door open, looking at his injuries in the mirror. He turned when he saw her, but she went right passed him and emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet.

"Woah!" Steve exclaimed. He went over to her and knelt down next to her. "I guess that blow on the head was a bit much for you…" Everyone crowded by the door. He looked at them. "Leave her alone, huh?" He pulled her hair back behind her shoulders so it wouldn't be in the way and rubbed her back for a few minutes. She sat over the toilet for another ten minutes but didn't vomit again. Finally, Steve helped her up and led her back to the couch in the front room. Everyone was back in their places in the living room. They all started to ask her questions but Steve held a finger up to his lips to keep them quiet. "You feelin' any better, Rae?"

"Well, my stomach feels better but my head is still killing me," she said. Dally walked into the room holding a glass of water and a few painkillers.

"Take some aspirin, kid," he said he gave it to her. She swallowed the pills easily.

"God, I feel like I have a concussion," she said after taking the medicine.

"You very well might," Sodapop said.

"We couldn't take you to the hospital because they'd look at your family and friends, remember?" Two-Bit asked. "Then they'd definitely break the Curtis' up. You and Dally too." Rae nodded. There was a silence for a few minutes between the gang. She looked at her clothes. They were the ones she was wearing last night. There was dried blood all down the front from where Bob broke her nose and it bled. Her left arm wasn't grey anymore, like the rest of her shirt. It was completely red. Ponyboy's jean vest was sitting at the end of the couch.

"What happened to Curly and Tim?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Tim had to drag Curly home. Curly helped keep the Socs off of Dally while he took care of you until a few ganged up on him and punched him out. But, they're both fine," Two-Bit assured her. She nodded again. The Aspirins were already taking effect. The pills were already making her head feel better. She stood up to stretch and when she did, she forgot her shoulder injury and pulled it open. Rae let out a yelp and put her right hand over the wound. She felt blood under the bandage.

"You okay, Rae?" Johnny asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, Johnnycake. It's just a little blood," she replied and stuck her hand in her back pocket. She frowned and made a disgusted noise.

"What is it?" Ponyboy asked, looking up at her, from the floor.

"That's why he stuck his hand in my pocket!" she said, angrily, and cursed.

"What?"

"That Bob Shelton stole my switch!"

On the other side of town, Bob Shelton sat in the basement of his home, along with his buddy Randy. Both boys were still wearing the clothes they had been wearing to the rumble. Bob took the blue handled switchblade out of his pants' pocket, opened it up, and set it down on the desk in front of them. Randy looked at the engraving on the blade.

"Raelee Angela Winston?" Randy asked. Bob nodded. "Raelee…that's an interesting name. How did she fight?"

"She held her own for a while, which surprised me. I expected her to be kind of weak. I also expected her guard to be down," he answered, staring at the knife. "She did get me too." He pointed to the hole in his sleeve. "Almost had her out until that no good grease brother of hers, Dallas Winston, interfered."

"Dallas Winston? Isn't he that one who just stopped coming to class? He was in our grade wasn't he?" Randy asked. Bob nodded.

"I also told her I wouldn't go easy on her, but I honestly did, a little bit."

"Why? You've been after this girl for a while now," Randy said, surprised. "This is one helluva time to go easy."

"I saw her in the hallways with a teacher a couple of weeks ago while I was heading back from the bathroom. She was threatening him," Bob started. "So last week I bribed the teacher with a couple hundred and he told me what the whole thing was about."

"What happened?"

"She was raped by her own father a few weeks ago." Randy looked surprised.

"Damn…"

"Yeah, but next time she won't be so lucky," Bob said and picked up the knife. He flipped it closed and opened a drawer of the desk. There were at least 7 or 8 other switchblades sitting in it. Her dropped Rae's blade in the drawer and closed it.

"Why do you collect those?" Randy asked. Bob shrugged.

"I guess because, even though I am a Soc, I won't be able to get away with murder," he answered.

"Whatever," Randy said, standing up. "Let's go get some breakfast." He started heading up the stairs. Bob stood and followed his friend up the stairs.


	25. Visiting the Shepards

(A/n: Sorry it's been a while, guys…I've been busy here. But I'm on Spring Break now! And you'll be meeting some other S.E. Hinton characters in here…If you've read "That Was Then, This Is Now," I mean…)

**Chapter 25**

Later that day, everyone had cleaned all their injuries and freshened up. Dally had to help her get her shirt off so she didn't open her injury more. He also had to wash her hair for her before she got into the shower. When she was done showering and got dried off, she put on a tank top so she wouldn't aggravate her injury. When she was done getting dressed, Soda helped her bandage the cut up again.

"You feeling better now, kid?" Darry asked when she was finally done getting cleaned up. Rae nodded. Her head wasn't throbbing as bad. Her arm still hurt, but it would hurt for a while.

"Yeah," she said as she pulled her hair over her right shoulder. "I'd like to go visit Curly, though…" She looked over at Two-Bit. "Would you drive me over there?" Her friend nodded and quickly stood up.

"Sure, whatever you want," he said, while slipping on his jacket. Sodapop helped her into her jean jacket.

"Don't be gone too long," Dally said. Rae nodded, said goodbye to everybody, and went out the door behind Two-Bit. They walked down to his house to grab the run-down car. The ride over wasn't anything special. They both were pretty much silent. Raelee mostly stared out her window. They parked in a random parking lot a couple of miles away from the Shepard's house. Once you got into the district that they lived in, there wouldn't be anywhere to park. A few miles wasn't that much anyway. From there, you could basically get anywhere that needed to be going to.

"Let's get something to eat first, huh, kid?" Two-Bit asked. "We haven't eaten since dinner last night and it's about lunch time now."

"I'm not very hungry, but we can go to the local fast food-joint if you want something," she said. He shrugged.

"Alright, let's go. I won't be long," he said. They walked down to the closest place, which happened to be a McDonalds. Two-Bit got a burger and some fries. Rae just sat a slurped on a Coke. She looked out of the window that was by their booth, then looked down at the table.

"He knew, Keith," she said. She had been calling him 'Keith' a lot lately. He stopped stuffing his face full of food long to look up at his friend.

"Who knew what, now?" he asked her. He studied her face. She looked sad and scared.

"Bob…Bob Shelton knew about…what my father did to me. I don't know how and I don't know when…but he found out," Rae answered, quietly. Two-Bit stared at her for a few seconds.

"This isn't good, Rae," he said, seriously. "This is really not good. He's a Soc. He'll go to the cops and he'll have you taken away. You know he will. We have to have something done about this…" Raelee nodded.

"I know. But, what could we possibly do?" He sighed.

"I don't know," he replied. "We'll have to talk to the gang and see if we can come up with some ideas." She leaned her head on one of her hands and closed her eyes. "But," he continued after a few seconds, "let's go see Curly first, alright?" She looked back up and him. He smiled. Rae nodded.

"Okay." Two-Bit finished his lunch and they both left the joint together. The walk was virtually silent. They walked about a mile before they ran into a couple of kids about Ponyboy's age. One of them, a funny looking boy with blond hair and gold eyes, ran right into Rae, while he was busy talking to the boy that was with him. He had hit her on her injured arm and made her wince.

"Sorry," the kid mumbled under her breath as he kept walking.

"Mark," his friend whispered. "You have to watch where you're going…"

"Hey!" Two-Bit had turned around. The two boys stopped and looked back at him.

"What?" Mark asked.

"Don't what me, you little shit. Get back here and apologize. You hurt her," he said.

"I said, 'sorry'," the younger boy said. He looked at his friend, who gave him a look. Finally, Mark sighed and walked back up to Rae.

"I'm sorry for running into you," he said, angrily. She shrugged and he went back to the other boy. The two turned and started back in their own direction. "See, Bryon? She didn't even care." Raelee looked over to her friend.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said. Two-Bit shrugged.

"I know." He smiled at her. "But you're special."

They started walked again. They joked around for the rest of the way and about ten minutes later, they arrived at the Shepards' house. They could hear shouting going on inside, most likely from the parents. No one understood why they just didn't get a divorce. Rae thought she also heard Angela Shepard's angelic voice in there somewhere as well. Two-Bit knocked on the door and a few seconds later, Tim opened the door.

"Hey, guys," he said as if he'd been expecting them, but he looked surprised. He looked pretty beat up from the night before. He nodded towards Two-Bit and looked Rae up and down. "How's the shoulder, kid? I saw you get a nasty cut." She shrugged.

"It hurts, but that's expected, I suppose. Hopefully it won't get infected, right?" she said, with a smile.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Hey, Tim, is Curly in?" she asked, taking a peek inside.

"Yeah, he is actually. He's back in his room, resting. He got pretty beat up trying to keep the Socs off of you and your brother last night," he said and moved out of the way so they could get in. "Come on in, I'll let ya see him." The two walked in and Tim led them back to the back, where they boys' bedrooms were. Angela sat on the couch, reading a magazine and occasionally yelling at her parents. She glared up at Rae as she went by. Raelee ignored the other girl and followed close behind Two-Bit. When they got back to his room, Curly was sitting up in his bed, reading a book. Tim stuck his head into the room.

"Hey, bro, you got some visitors." Curly put the book down on his lap and looked up. Rae and Two-Bit walked into the room.

"You don't seem like the type who would read too often," Raelee said as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I do when I don't have anything else to do," he said and smiled. He inspected her face. "It doesn't look like you got beat up too bad." She took off her jacket to show him the bandaging. "Or not." He looked back up at her face. "Is it deep?"

"Yeah, but I don't think it needs stitches. It'll start healing up soon, don't worry," she replied. He smiled. "You don't look too good yourself."

"I'm okay. Nothing I can't handle," he said. "They knocked me out just a few minutes after you, though. Tim had to literally drag me home." Rae smiled and put one of her hands on his.

"Just make sure you get better quickly, got it?" she said. He wrapped his hand around hers and smiled again. Then, he looked up at Two-Bit, who was just standing there.

"How'd you make out?" Curly asked.

"Oh, just a couple of bruises and scratches. Nothing much," the older boy answered. "I'm afraid Rae, here, got the worst of it. She's a tough one." The three of them talked for a few more minutes, but Two-Bit reminded her that Dally had told them not to stay out long.

"Alright, I guess we should go. Don't want to make big brother worry," Rae said, with a giggle.

"Oh, if you must," Curly said. She leaned over and gave him a kiss, then stood up. Two-Bit bid his farewells as well. They walked back out to the front room, where Tim was sitting on the couch watching TV, next to his sister, who was still reading her magazine.

"See ya later, Tim," Two-Bit said as he walked by the other boy and out the front door. Rae nodded towards him.

"Drop by anytime, Rae," Tim said. She nodded again.

"Bye, Tim." Then, she walked out the door.


	26. Raelee: A Comback!

Concerning Raelee…

Hi everyone! Sorry I stopped uploading =( I got really busy with my high school graduation and college that I had no time to write! There's also a wonderful boy in the mix now too ^^!

I have gotten quite a few reviews of Raelee, even after two years of not updating it! I also recently came into contact with a few friends of mine who kept me writing as long as I did. I reread one of my favorite Outsider's stories, and I've become sort of inspired again! And, I've found some extra time here and there.

So! I plan on updating Raelee as often as I can, and I'm hoping that will at least be weekly. Thank you for all the support you've given me over the past two years! It definitely helped me come out of my two-year-old writer's block!

~Christina


	27. Cooldown

(A/N: Well, sorry for my long hiatus! As stated in my comeback chapter, I said I would try to update as often as I could ^^. Please forgive me if this chapter isn't very good; I just need to get back into the swing of things! This was a story I promised myself I'd finish and possibly the best work I'd ever done in high school.)

**Chapter 26**

For the next month, things started to quiet down. The fuss Carrie's mother had over Rae's injuries were about the loudest thing that had been going on. Although she wasn't happy about it, she agreed to leave the hospital out of it and let Carrie help Rae bandage it up every morning. A few weeks after the night that Bob Sheldon took her switchblade, the wound was finally almost healed up, and she started to wear less and less bandaging. And although she knew that he was looking for her, Rae's father had been nowhere to be seen. Dally concluded that Carrie's house was the best place she could have gone. It was then that Dally had done something no one- not even Rae, had ever seen him do.

Rae and Carrie ran out the front door, giggling. They were both wearing their same blue-jean jackets, with wool gloves and wool hats. The weather had started to get outrageously cold, but even with the job at the bar, real coats were getting expensive. The jackets would just have to do. It had started snowing, and Carrie begged Rae to come outside with her. They were both surprised by the sight they saw walking up the walkway.

"H-hey, Dally," Rae said, surprised, almost not believing the man in front of her was indeed her older brother. He looked up when he heard her greet him, and smiled his handsome smile.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Are you trying to get shot?" she asked, half serious.

"Nah," he said and walked past her. He went up the front steps and knocked on the door.

"Go ahead in, no need to knock!" Carrie called after him, pulling Rae down the sidewalk with her.

"What's going on?" Rae asked her blonde friend as she was hurried to the street.

"I don't know but it must be important if Dally looks like a Soc!" Rae nodded and shrugged.

"I guess…," she said, but was still suspicious. She glanced back towards the house, then gave up and turned back to talk with Carrie. "What movie are we seeing, anyway?" She looked over to her friend, who shook her head.

"I'm not sure; Stephen said he was picking the movie." Rae nodded and walked on, trying to keep herself warm.

"Sure feels weird without my switchblade in my pocket," she said, thinking. When they arrived at the movie theater, they found Stephen waiting outside, with their tickets. Carrie smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you," she said and took his free hand. All three went in and soon after the movie started. Rae didn't pay much attention to the movie, but instead thought of ways to get her knife back. She could threaten him, but he probably wouldn't even think twice about that. There wasn't much she could do. _Wait…_, she thought. _Two-Bit is the best shoplifter I know…But how to get into Bob's house…_ The screen before her went dark and the credits started rolling.

"What did you think, Rae?" Stephen asked, leaning forward to see her.

"It was alright," she said, and shrugged. "I need to go to the Curtis house for a while, guys. Go have lunch or something and I'll meet you back at your house, Carrie."

"Are you sure?" Carrie asked, starting to stand with her friend.

"I'll be okay. They boys will be with me." Still uncertain, Carrie sat back down with Stephen. She hurried out of the theater and ran all the way down to the hood. She entered the Curtis house, not surprised to see everything sitting in the front room.

"Hey kid!" Steve exclaimed with a smile. She smiled at him and went over to where he was sitting. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down, and started wrestling with her on the floor. The other boys watched, cheering Rae on. She giggled and rolled over on to his back, and sat there.

"I win!" she exclaimed, then stood up and moved off of him. "Two-Bit, can I talk to you?" she asked and moved towards the back room where Pony and Soda slept. Her friend got up and followed. "I have an idea about how to get my blade back, but I need your help."

"I have a feeling you'll need me to help you break into his house." She nodded. "Do you really think that's smart? I mean, he knows, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but if it's you, I know the job will be done and he won't even know," she retorted, smiling. "You know that knife is important to me, Keith." Keith. Here we go again. How could he ever say no to that? Two-Bit sighed.

"I guess, kid. I'll have it for you by tomorrow." She almost squealed and hugged him.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, smiling. "You know I'd do anything for you." He laughed. "You know it and you take advantage of it, don't you?" Rae shrugged and started moving out towards everyone else.

"Who's next?" she yelled and jumped on to Soda. Two-Bit watched her from the back room for a minute, smiling.

"What a mess," he whispered and went back out to the front room. "Hey, save me a turn!"

Later that evening, Rae ran back to Carrie's house. Two-Bit had taken off an hour before her to get ready to do as she asked. When she entered the house, Carrie's mother was sitting in their living room, watching television.

"Oh, hey Rae," she said, smiling. "I always heard your brother was quite the hood." Rae remembered seeing Dally in Soc attire this morning. "He was very polite and thanked me for letting you stay here. Quite the gentleman you have there. A great brother." Rae smiled.

"Thank you, Mrs. Merril. He is really great to me," she said and went back to Carrie's room.

***

Bob came downstairs before going to bed. He thought that he had heard something going on down here. His father was out of town and his mother was already in bed. As he looked around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The door that led outside was locked, and nothing had been moved.

"Huh, I guess I was just hearing things," he said, out loud, to himself and started back up the stairs. Suddenly he stopped. He looked towards the drawer where he kept all of the stolen switchblades. He moved towards it and slowly slid it open. Something was missing. He had only one blue-handled blade and it was not here. "I see. So it was you." He smiled. "Well, you'll definitely be in for a surprise tomorrow."


	28. Caught

(A/N: I realize I'm submitting two chapters at once! I had written this chapter a long time ago and it was still in my Raelee binder. I needed to find somewhere to incorporate it, and I decided that now should be the beginning of the end. Don't worry! There's still a lot to tell, but this needed to be soon^^;. I couldn't delay it any longer! Enjoy!)

**Chapter 27**

"Rae!" Carries voice rang down the hall of the school. Rae turned away from her locker to see her small friend run up to her. She looked upset, scared, and was out of breath. Two-Bit and Johnny noticed the girl a few lockers away and went to face her too.

"Calm down, Carrie." Rae said, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"You'd better run," she started, stopping to breathe. "Someone told, Rae. I don't know who it was, but they know. They're going to throw you into the foster system." Rae's eyes widened and she almost lost her balance. She knew exactly what Carrie was talking about. Two-Bit's mouth dropped open.

"Rae!" he exclaimed, moving closer to her. "We need to go. Now." Rae dropped her books in an instant and took off down the hall with Carrie. Halfway down the hall, she saw Bob Sheldon motioning towards a couple of older men. He looked her straight in the eye and smirked.

"There she is!" he said, and pointed towards her. Rae went into a sliding stop and quickly started running the other way. Two-Bit and Johnny stayed behind to fight off the men meant to take her away.

"Rae, we're almost to the door," Carrie panted, running closely behind her friend. _Yes,_ Rae thought. _Almost home free…_ As soon as they got out the door, they stopped the catch their breath.

"We need to find Dally," Rae said as Carrie looked behind her in horror. She felt a hand on her shoulder and instantly knew it was over. "Go, Carrie…We'll fix this when you find Dally." The blonde nodded and ran back inside. Rae didn't fight the man; she knew she couldn't win. She watched her friend run back inside as the man led her to a car.

Back inside, Carrie ran to Two-Bit and gave him Rae's instructions. Two-Bit gathered up Johnny and Ponyboy and led everyone out to his car. The older boy almost ran into the side of his car, trying to hurry. They hurried speeded to the gas station, hoping that there wasn't a cop around. As soon as they stopped, Two-Bit stumbled out of the car as if he was drunk. Steve came outside, smiling.

"You got some alcohol in there?" he asked, helping his friend stand up straight. He went to the passenger side of the car to find Carrie. Confused, he asked, "Where's Rae?"

"They took her," Carry said, almost crying. Soda came outside and looked at Two-Bit, who nodded.

"Alright, Pony, Johnny, you guys stay here. We're going to call Darry and go home early. Two-Bit, you take…," Sodapop trailed off, looking down at the girl, not knowing her name.

"Carrie," the girl sitting in the front seat said.

"You take Carrie and go find Dally. Tim will probably know where he is." Two-Bit got back in and took off down the road, hardly waiting for his friends to close the doors as they got out. They found Tim walking towards the Curtis house. He was beat up a little, but that wasn't a new sight. Two-Bit pulled over and stopped next to Tim.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, closing his leather jacket tighter around him.

"Have you seen Dally, Tim?" Two-Bit asked through the window.

"I think he's at Buck's place. If not then I'd check the Dingo. Why?"

"They've taken Rae!" Carrie exclaimed, suddenly. Tim jumped back, taken by surprise.

"Taken? Who and where?" he asked, looking at the both of them.

"They found out about the rape by a Soc, and they'll probably stick her in a cell at the police station until they figure out what to do with her," Two-Bit answered.

"And who are you?" the other boy asked, leaning in the window, and looking down at Carrie.

"I'm Carrie Merril. Me and Rae got classes together," she answered. "She was staying at my house…" She looked down at her lap.

"Don't worry. We'll try our best to keep her here." Tim nodded towards Two-Bit.

"Good luck." The car took off in the direction of Buck's bar. They quickly got out of the car when they arrived and ran up the stairs. They ran into Dally, who was just walking through the door.

"Ain't you guys supposed to be in school?" he asked, looking down at them. He saw Carrie's upset face. "What's wrong, kid?"

"A couple cops came and took Rae from school. Dal, they know and I think they mean to take her away," Two-Bit said, trying to be calm. Dally stared at his friend in disbelief for a moment, and then shook his head out of his trance and pushed by the other two.

"Let's go, then," he said and dropped himself in the seat Carrie had previously been riding in. They took off towards the police station. They got to the front desk. Dally sighed in relief. The person was new and didn't know him. "Raelee Winston," he said to her and she led them back to the cells.

"She's only been here and hour and she's already so popular…," the woman said as she walked around the corner. Dally, Two-Bit, and Carrie follow closely and saw Tim and Curly already there. Tim was leaning against the cell across from Rae, and Curly was sitting on the floor, holding his girlfriend's hands through the bars. She was leaning against the bars, with tears streaming down her face.

"They said they wouldn't let me stay with any of you…that you were a bad influence," she sobbed. "They said they were taking me away and that you wouldn't be able to contact me." Curly looked up at Dally when he walked in. Rae followed his gaze. "Dally…help me. Please." Curly turned back to her quickly, gripping her hands tighter.

"They're not going to take you anywhere, Rae. We'll make sure of that," he said. "Now, look. Dally's here to see you. He'll take care of everything." He stood up slowly, letting her hands slide out of his, and then switched places with Dally, who squatted down in front of his sister.

"I'm sorry, Dally…I got caught," she said, looking down at the ground.

"It's not-"

"I told you not to let anyone back here to see her!" someone yelled out front. The group heard footsteps and suddenly a tall police officer was standing there. "All of you, out."

"No!" all of them yelled at once. Dally stood up and moved towards the cop.

"Back again Winston?"

"Let my sister out," he commanded, his eyes blazing, dangerously.

"You don't scare me. Get out of here, Dallas." Dally growled and tried to keep all of anger back. All of the others knew not to attempt to touch him.

"Go on, Dally," Rae's voice said. "Don't get in anymore trouble, please," she begged. If she had been anyone but his sister, or Johnny, he would have slugged them. Instead, he gave the cop the finger and pushed his way outside, his friends in tow.

"Damnit!" Dally yelled, once outside, and punched a wall. Curly walked outside, looking completely lost for the first time in his entire life. "I said I'd protect her."

"We'll get her back, Dal," Two-Bit said. He looked over to Carrie, who was wide-eyed, leaning against his car. "I'm gunna take this kid home. I'll meet you guys at the Curtis house."

"No, I want to come," Carrie said.

"But-"

"I'm Rae's friend too." Two-Bit sighed.

"Alright, but no more cryin'." Carrie nodded in agreement.

"We'll go see if there's anything we can do back home," Tim said and led Curly away. The rest of them headed towards to Curtis house.


	29. Family

(A/N: Amg, another chapter. 3 in two days! This will make up for the week I'm at my boyfriend's house. I'll be very busy! I hope you enjoy.)

**Chapter 28**

When they reached the Curtis house, all three brothers, plus Johnny and Steve were there. Everyone was seated, except for Darry, who was pacing around the room. They were all silent. Johnny jumped when Dally burst through the door first, follow by Two-Bit and Carrie.

"Did you see her?" Darry asked, quickly, and stopped pacing. Dally nodded.

"Yeah, but they kicked us out. She said they were taking us away and there wasn't anything we could do. She said the don't think we're fit to take care of her."

"Damnit!" Soda yelled. "We were trying so hard." Steve nodded. Soda dropped his fist on the coffee table, hard. "Hopefully, it will be close," he said, calming down a bit and leaning back against the couch. They were all silent for a few minutes, thinking.

"They'll keep it a secret, though. I mean, they won't even let us see her while she's behind bars," Steve said, staring at the floor. Soda sighed and nodded. Darry left for the kitchen and decided to make dinner to keep busy. Once it was made, they all ate, but didn't eat very much. They were much too worried to be hungry. Over the next few hours, the Curtis's living room cleared out, slowly. After Two-Bit, the last of them except for the brothers and Dally, had left, two new people arrived.

"You mind if we come in, Darrel?" Tim Shepard said, standing in the doorway.

"Of course not, you know my door is always open," Darry said, motioning them in. Curly and his brother stepped in and took a seat on the couch, next to Dally.

"Did you find anything out?" Dally asked. Curly nodded.

"Yes, they moved her to the children's home."

"Well, let's go break her out then!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet.

"It's not the easy, Dally," Tim stated. "We have a few guys watching over the place. Since Raelee is a high-priority case, and your sister, they have fuzz all over the building. They're just waiting for you to come get her."

"What else can we do?"

"You'll go to jail if you fail," Curly said.

"So?" Dally asked. "Not like I haven't been there before. What would you guys have me do? Not do it and let them take her away? She would think I abandoned her and I would always regret it." The rest were silent. "I wouldn't be able to live without her."

"Alright," Darry said. "We need a plan." He turned to Tim. "Tell your outfit that we need a time when they switch officers out, and a place we can get in. A window, a back door, something." Tim nodded and flew out the door, leaving Curly there.

"Do you mind if I stay the night tonight?" the younger Shepard brother asked. Darry nodded.

"Tim won't be back tonight." He looked at Dally. "Don't you dare try anything without us and without a plan. All we can do for now is get some sleep and wait. It will probably take them a few days to find her a real home to stay at, anyway." Dallas sighed, but agreed with a nod.

"Fine." Dally sat back in against the couch. Darry stood from the chair and moved back to his room.

"We'll get her back, Dally. Don't worry," he said, just before he shut his door. Curly got up and moved to the chair Darry had just moved from.

"Goodnight, Dally," he said and shut the light off.

***

Rae sat in the office of the town's Children's Home. She was a complete mess. The tears she had been crying were stained into her cheeks, and her hair was a mess from the struggle it took to get her there. The room itself was dimly lit, with nothing but a desk, two chairs, a telephone, and a filing cabinet. There was a cop standing by the door behind her and the woman who ran the home was sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Your full name?" she asked Rae, who kept her mouth shut. The woman sighed. "You know, this would be over so much quicker if you would just talk."

"Why should I tell you anything? All you'll do is take me away from my brother and my friends."

"That may be the case, but if we decide as such, it will be for your own good."

"So tearing me away from my best friends and my beloved older brother is for my own good?" Rae scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think so." The woman in front of her looked annoyed.

"I'll ask once more for your full name," she said, sternly. Rae gave her the finger. She heard to cop move from behind her and grab her arm. He lifted her from the chair and escorted her out to the large room where everyone was sleeping. He dropped her on a creaking bed.

"You're just as bad as your brother," he said. "Don't you think you would be better off without that kind of influence in your life?" Rae slipped her shoes off and laid down on top on the covers.

"He's taken care of me my entire life. I'm pretty sure his influence has already infected me. Taking me away from him would only make me more like him and defiant," Rae answered, staring at the dark ceiling.

"Heh, just like him," the officer said. "I don't understand why anyone would want to live the life you kids live."

"You wouldn't, would you? You aren't from the hood. You wouldn't know what kind of bonds we make with each outfit. You wouldn't know how close we are with each other because we don't have anyone else. We don't give a shit about money, or anything like that. We care only for our friends, who are our families. But you wouldn't know and why would you care? Why don't you go home to your wife and kids and leave us alone." Rae turned on to her side so her back was facing the cop, who was taken aback. He didn't know what to say.

"No, I guess I wouldn't," he said, looking down at her.

"Go away and let me sleep," she commanded, a hint of anger in her voice. Although he didn't move, she closed her eyes. It took her almost an hour to fall asleep. Desperately, she hoped Dally would break her out of here. Her brother could do anything. Maybe it was a little girl's fantasy that her brother had super-strength, and other super-human powers, but he had never failed her in all her 16 years.


	30. Hope

(A/N: Sorry guys! I know I promised to update every week. Two weeks ago I was at my boyfriend's for a week and this past week has just been so busy! The end of the semester is at foot and I have to make sure to do well on my final tests and projects to maintain my grades! It will be slow for the next few weeks as I'm going back to my boyfriend's house this coming Sunday and staying for a week. I promise to start updating more afterwards, though! I have a later chapter already completely written out and I hope to post it soon!)

**Chapter 29**

Rae sat up on her bed the next morning. The sunlight and the fact that there were 20 screaming kids running around must have woken her up. The police officer that had been there the night before was gone, but a new one was there. She picked her shoes up off of the floor and slipped them on. Then, she looked up at the cop.

"Somewhere I can get some food?" she asked, matting the back of her hair down with her hands. She knew it was sticking out. It always did. He pointed towards the table across the large room where there was someone waiting to give breakfast for the kids. Rae nodded to the officer and made her way over. She got her breakfast. It wasn't much; toast and some oatmeal since it was cold outside. She went to go sit down at other tables where a few of the older kids were sitting. She sat down at the same table, but on the opposite end and picked at her food. After a few minutes, she looked up to see a child about ten or so staring out a barred window. He looked completely absorbed in what he was doing. And then she remembered…

_**Flashback**_

_Ten year old Raelee sat in the windowsill of their small home, wearing a fancy dress. The dress was long-sleeved, with an empire waist separating the top and top bottom parts of the dress. It was marked with a white ribbon, and a big tied bow in the back. Dally had helped her tie it, of course. The top of the dress was black velvet-like material and long sleeved. The bottom was a silky-type material, white, with black velvet polka dots covering it. She was wearing white tights and black Mary Janes. Half of her long hair was up in a ponytail and covered with another white ribbon. She was staring out the window, which was next to the Christmas tree. The white lights of the tree were reflecting in the window, but Rae could still see through it. _

"_They'll be here, Rae, you don't need to sit there until they get here," she heard Dally say from the couch. _

"_Mm…I know," she replied without tearing her eyes away from the window. Everything had been going well lately. They're father has started drinking less. He didn't come home too drunk to see anymore. In fact, he came home in a good mood and even brought their mother flowers sometimes. The couple had been getting along very well and things were starting to look up for the family. He had decided to take her out to dinner Christmas Eve, and then they were going to the Christmas Vigil at church. _

"_They're here!" Rae said, jumping out of the windowsill. She went to the couch and picked up her furry coat and gloves. You would have never guessed that she would have turned into such a tomboy if you had seen her now. Dally stood up and helped her with her coat, then slipped his on. They saw the car lights outside. But, instead of honking like he said he would, their father shut the car off and got out. When he walked in the door, Rae's smile faded. _

"_Get your things, both of you. We're leaving here, tonight," the older man said. Rae saw parts of her father's shirt stained red. _

"_Where's mom-," Rae started. Dally grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back, cutting her off. He took her hand and led her up the stairs. "Dally, what's going on?" she asked, a bit scared._

"_Just shhh and do what he says, Rae," he answered, letting her hand go. "Just gather some clothes and put them in your suitcase." And then he disappeared inside of his room. She stared at his door for a moment, then went into her room. She did as he instructed and took a few skirts and pants out of the drawers under her bed, as well as some shirts and underwear. She stuffed them all in her suitcase and by the time she was done, Dally had appeared again. "Let's go," he ordered. She reached across her bed and grabbed her stuffed bear, and then followed him downstairs. Their father was there, waiting for them, with a bottle in hand._

Oh no, _Rae thought. Not this again. _

"_Get in the car," he ordered them. "We're going somewhere they can't find us." Rae went to speak, but Dally covered her mouth, then led her to the car. When they got there, their father was still inside the house. _

"_Where's mother, Dally? What's going on?" she asked. _

"_I don't know, Rae. But just keep quiet and do what he says. And don't worry, I'll be here in case he tries to hurt you. I'll always be here to take care of you."_

_**End flashback**_

Rae came out of her trance when the kid that she was staring at started shouting.

"Look!" he yelled. "There're two tough-looking guys come towards the house!" Rae dropped her fork and took off towards the closest window on the same side of the building. She saw them- Dally and Curly. She felt a sudden giddiness in her body, but that quieted down when she remembered that the police knows them by name. They would know that the boys would try to rescue her.

"Dally!" she screamed through the window. He heard her and looked in her direction. He smiled his handsome smile and pulled out a blade. Her smile faded. No…not a blade. The cop that had been inside watching her suddenly bolted out the door. There was no one to stop her. A minute after the cop left, she ran outside to join her brother and her boyfriend.

"Stop her!" she heard one of the cops yell. Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the hand and pulled here towards the road. She almost tripped, but noticed it was Dally. He pushed her behind him.

"The car's waiting on the other side of the road," he said, and turned to face the cops.

"Dally, you'll be arrested," she protested.

"When have I ever worried about me over you," he laughed and punched a cop in the gut. She watched him for a moment, and then nodded. She took Curly's hand and ran off to the car behind them. Before they could reach it, an officer grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of Curly's grasp. Another man grabbed him and held him down. She spun around to see Dally being held down by other cops, his switchblade in the grass, five feet away.

"Dally!" she yelled. He looked up at her.

"Can you blame me for trying?" he asked, smiling again. She reached out to grab his hand. He took hers tightly and the cops tried to pry them apart.

"I love you Dally," Rae said, trying to hold on to him tighter. She felt their hands slipping apart.

"I'll be back for you," he said. She nodded and their hands were forced apart. She watched as the cops dragged him off and put him in the back of a car. She stood there, silently. After a few minutes, they took her off in a car as well. _I'll be waiting, Dally,_ she said in her head and stared out the window.


	31. Jail

(A/n: Man, I really can't believe I've made it to chapter 30. It's the longest story I've ever written and as stated before, the best I've ever done. I've not proved it's physically impossible for me to watch the move and sleep/not write. It's almost 4 am and I have to be up in six hours. In this chapter, Mark and Bryon from "That Was Then, This is Now" appear again! Don't get used to it, though, they won't be here long. The beginning of the end has come and it will be coming very soon. Anyway, I guess since it's been 30 chapters since I disclaimed this story, I may as well do it now, so remind you!

The Outsiders and most of the characters belong to S. E. Hinton. Raelee, Carrie, and all the little unimportant people like Carrie's boyfriend belong me! Enjoy!)

**Chapter 30**

The house the cop car pulled up to was, for lack of a better word, neat. Neat, bright, pretty, and perky. Everything Raelee Winston detested. She scowled. Seriously? She looked over to the white-painted, metal mailbox. The name was Douglas. She looked around at all the other houses in the area. Rae couldn't figure out where she was. Maybe she should have been paying more attention instead of daydreaming. Dally always hated that about her; how she was prone to let her mind wander sometimes. She sighed, wondering how she would get out of this place. She saw movement towards the door of the Douglas house. A woman and two boys walked out. They couldn't have been older than 12 or 13. They looked about Pony's age. One of the boys looked exactly like the woman, the other, however, had golden-blonde hair and looked nothing like the other two. The two boys seemed oddly familiar for some reason.

"You're kidding me, right?" Rae asked in the police man in the front seat.

"Afraid not," he said. She could hear a smile in his tone and sank down into her seat. "Here are the rules. If you break any of them we'll have no choice but to take you out-of-state. You are not allowed to contact your brother or your friends in any way. You must stay here, in this house. If you need to go out, you must have Ms. Douglas or someone she approves of escort you to where you need to go. Understand?" She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. He took that as a yes and continued. "We will be doing everything in our power to find your father. Once we do, you will have to testify in court against him. Keep in mind; he may be released since there is no concrete proof. Your brother is not fit to take care of you, and your friends have been found as a bad influence." He was silent for a few moments to let it sink into her, and then got out of the car. He opened her door and grabbed her by the arm to pull her out. "Ms. Douglas, this is Raelee Winston." The woman smiled and walked towards her.

"Nice to meet you, Raelee," she said, extending a hand. Rae stared at her hand, but didn't move. The cop let go of the teen's arm and moved to get back into the car.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then," he said, and then was gone.

"Why don't you come inside?" the older woman asked. "The cops went ahead to your home and brought some clothes for you to wear." She put a hand on Rae's back and led her towards the house. "These are my sons, Bryon and Mark."

"We've met," Rae said, with a nasty tone. Ms. Douglas looked surprised for a moment, but didn't say anything. They entered the house and Rae got a tour. There was a guest room where they had already put a suitcase full of her things. After a half an hour of the woman's non-stop talking, she finally decided to leave her alone.

"Well, I'll let you unpack, if you would like. We've already had lunch but there is some things to make a sandwich in the kitchen if you would like."

Once she was gone, Rae sat down on the bed and stared at the blank wall in front of her. Dally had gone to jail, but what of Curly? He wasn't of legal age…where would the take him? She sighed and laid back on the bed. She rolled over on to her side and curled up.

When she woke up, the room was pitch black. There was a knock on the door. "Raelee?" she heard one of the boys' voices on the other side.

"What?" she asked. He opened the door.

"My mom asked me to come get you for dinner." She ignored him and stayed in the same position. "And for the record, I'm sorry that Mark was so rude when he bumped into you." Rae sighed and sat up.

"Just call me Rae. Now go away."

"Should I just tell mom that you're not hungry?"

"I don't give a shit," she snapped at him. "Just leave me alone." She heard him close the door and walk away. She looked up at the window. She lifted herself into it and leaned against it.

***

Dally sat on the bed of his cell. Ninety days is a long time to be wasting away in a jail when his sister is counting on him to bring her back. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He wondered where she was and what she was doing. They had probably taken her far away from him and their friends. He heard that their father had fled. To where, Dally didn't know. He figured he'd just end up doing what he did six years ago- change his identity and move to a new state. Except this time, he won't have to move with the burden of his kids.

_Good,_ Dally thought. His and Rae's world was better without him in it. Much better. He heard movement from the cell next to his.

"What are ya in for buddy?" the voice through the wall asked.

"I hit a cop," Dally answered, with a small laugh. "Is it so bad that all I wanted to do was to take care of my sister?"

"Hey, I don't want to hear no sob story," the other man said. "Just wanted to know why you was here." Dally scoffed and laid down.

"Right."

***

"Get your hands off of me!" shouted Curly's voice. He tried to punch his captor. Finally, they got him in cuffs and sat him down in a chair. "Don't you dare cut my hair!"

"It's protocol, kid. We have to." Over the next few minutes, Curly felt his hair fall in tufts on to his clothes, which were regulation as well. When they were done cutting his hair short, they led him to a room with nothing but two beds(that contained restraints for the especially dangerous ones), a bedside table, and barred windows. They let him out of his handcuffs. Quickly, they closed the door and he slammed his fists against it. He let out a frustrated growl and walked over to his bed.

"How long you here for?" the boy sitting on the opposite bed asked.

"Six months," Curly answered.

"Wow, what did you do?"

"I tried to save my girlfriend from being put into a foster home away from me, her friends, and her brother. Instead, what happens? I get shipped to a correctional institute all the way on the other side of Oklahoma."

"What happened to her parents?"

"Her father killed her mother when she was ten, and then fled the state and started new in Tulsa. Then, he raped Rae and ever since we've been trying to protect her from him. What do we get? That fucking Soc blabs, she gets sent away, and her father flees the state," Curly replied to the boy, laughing, thinking how ironic it was.

***

"Where are they?" Darry's voice asked.

"I don't know, Darry. Someone said they saw Dally, Curly, and Rae torn apart and shipped away in different cars. No one knows for sure," Steve answered, letting the front screen door slam behind him.

"What are we going to do?" Soda asked, looking up at Dally.

"I don't know," Darry said, with a sigh. "This is exactly why I told them to wait. But do they listen? Do they ever listen? Of course not. And now it may be too late to do anything."


	32. A New Year

(A/n: Thank you everything for all of your watches! I have gotten so many since I started writing again and I'm very flattered ^^! Now, this chapter is where the book/movie starts.

Some of this dialogue belongs to S.E. Hinton/Francis Ford Coppola…or whoever came up with the damn words.)

**Chapter 31**

Dally walked out into the cold, mid-day air. His blonde hair was longer, and his eyes were all the colder. Speaking of cold, it felt colder than he remembered it being 30 days ago. He slung his leather jacket over himself and started walking down the street. He ached for a cigarette. He was sure the Curtis's would have some at their house. A few blocks away, he heard shouting.

"Darry!" he heard Pony's voice shout. Out of habit, he ran towards the voice. By the time he got there, the gang was already there, trying to get ahold of the Socs who just attacked the youngest of them. He ran up and grabbed a rotting piece of siding off of the abandoned house next to them and threw it at the car as they rich bitches escaped. They got Ponyboy up and started walking towards the all-too-familiar house.

"How's the kid?" he asked, when they got there. He leaned up against an old car.

"I'm fine," Pony said, airing his neck wound out. "Thought you were in for 'bout 90 days, Dal."

"Got out early," he replied, with a smile. "You know, good behavior." Pony nodded. Steve and Soda started going on about a football game the next night. Pony wanted to go, but they were bringing the girls along. Automatic no.

"Why don't you and Sylvia come along, Dally?" Steve asked. He twisted the ring he gave her around his finger.

"See you got your Christopher back, Dal," Johnny remarked, watching.

"Little broad was two-timing me while I was in jail, man," Dally said, with a nod. "It's cool. Anyway, I was going to hunt some action tomorrow night. Little kids are allowed." He nodded towards Johnny and Pony.

"I dunno, Dal," Pony said. "We can't get in trouble with the law or they'll take us away for sure this time." _Right,_ he thought. Darry had come to see Dally in jail and explained that they had almost taken his brothers away over this, but in the end they decided against it, since they were only indirectly involved.

"Nah, not looking for trouble. I just wanted to catch a movie."

"Alright, I guess," Pony said. Dally heard the door creak open. Darry stood there, looked at his little brother.

"Ponyboy, you got homework." Dally decided to take the opportunity to run off to see Buck. He ran almost all the way there. It was cold. He had spent Christmas and New Year's confined to that jail cell. It was the first holiday he had ever spent away from his sister. He sighed and walked through the bar door.

***

Rae sat up with a yawn. The sunlight hurt her head. That party last night was out of control and she had gotten completely wasted. Ms. Douglas had allowed her go out on her own last night. She was sure that the woman would never let her do that again after the way she came home. She shielded her hand from the light coming from the window and opened her eyes. She saw a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water sitting on the table beside her bed. She smiled and popped the bottle open. After knocking back a few pills and gulping the water, Rae slid of the bed and shivered. Cold day. She went across the room to the dresser and looked in the mirror connected to it. Her hair was a mess, parts on the back sticking out. Frowning, she pulled a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of jeans, and some socks out of the dresser. After she finished putting her clothes on and matting down her hair, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said, turning around and leaning against the dresser. Bryon walked in, looking a bit nervous.

"Y-you…have a visitor," he stuttered.

"Did you ask for his name?" she asked, wondering who would be visiting her out here. She hadn't informed anyone at her new school who she was, or where she lived. She hadn't heard from any of her friends in about a month; she figured that they couldn't find her.

"Tim," he replied. Her eyes widened and she quickly pushed past the kid to get to the front door.

"I'm going for a walk!" Rae called back over her shoulder and grabbed her jean jacket from the hooks by the front door. She slid it on and opened the door. Sure enough- Tim Shepard stood there in a zipped up leather jacket, with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail, as usual. She stepped out, closing the door behind her.

"Rae…," he said, looking down at her. She smiled and unexpectedly wrapped her arms around his waist. "Wai-" He tried to stop her, but it didn't work. He was surprised for a moment, but cooled down and hugged her back.

"How is everything, Tim? It's been so long since I've heard…and if I even try to contact you I get sent out of state," Rae said, letting him go and walking down the front steps with him.

"Well, Curly's in a reformatory for six months," he started. Rae nodded, not really surprised. "It was only supposed to be two, but he's been causing a racket up there so they're extending the stay."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," she said with a giggle. He smiled as well and walked on.

"I haven't been to see the Curtis' since that night. I heard from Carrie that the boys had been allowed to stay with Darrel still, but not word on the others. Dally got sentenced to jail for ninety days."

"I see…," she said, looking down at the pavement below her. She looked up again, suddenly, confused. "Carrie told you…?" He laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, Carrie. She broke up with her boyfriend just after you got taken away. I asked her out a couple weeks ago and she said yes." Rae smiled sheepishly. Tim put up his hands in protest. "We haven't done anything, don't look at me like that!" She burst into a giggle fit.

"Uh-huh, okay."

"We haven't!"

"Then how did you know what I was thinking?" Tim sighed, and smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. You win. Anyway, I shouldn't stay here long. I don't want you to get caught." She nodded. "I'll come see you as often as I can, to give you news on Dally and things. It was good to see you," He said, smiling. "You're looking well, at least." He ruffled her hair. She pushed him away, smiling.

"Get going, hood!" He smiled and walked off. She watched, smiling, until he turned the corner, and then headed back to the Douglas house. Once she entered, she took her jacket and shoes off and went to the kitchen for some food. Mark and Bryon were there, talking in whispers. She leaned against the wall, staring at them, with one eyebrow up. It took them a minute to notice and then they stopped. She moved in and started to make a sandwich.

"Rae," Mark started. "How do you know him?"

"He's my boyfriend's brother."

"How did you become friends with them?" Bryon asked, next.

"I don't know; I've known them for a long time."

"Do you know that they're…"

"What is this? 20 questions? Yes, I know they're greasers. I'm a greaser too. Do you have a problem with that?" Both boys shook their heads and shut their mouths. Once she was done, Rae grabbed the plate that had her sandwich on it and left the room, in a huff.

She had no idea what was going to happen.


	33. The Murder

(A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry this took so long. I had expected to write a lot, if not finish the story over Christmas break but that turned out to be a bust! I thought I would have a lot of time, but alas, I was so busy I did almost nothing but talk on the phone and sleep! The reason I was on the phone so much was because I got accepted into Indiana State University, and it was on such short notice I had to get EVERYTHING taken care of within a week or less. Then, I had to pack everything and move into my dorm. Classes started last week and I've been spending weekends with my boyfriend now that he lives 15 minutes away! Now, I'm dealing with roommate drama among other things but I've FINALLY found some time to write. Hope you enjoy; the end will be coming very soon.)

**Chapter 32**

Rae sat in History class two mornings later, doodling on a piece of loose-leaf paper. She hated Mondays. And in this new school, across town, she didn't even have any friends to shoot spit balls at the back of the Socs' heads with. As a matter of fact, this part of town didn't have Greasers and Socs. Just plain, ordinary people. She hated it. She didn't know how people did it out here. She looked up at the clock, only half listening to the droning talk of the teacher. At least the bell would ring in a minute. She put her pencil in the schoolbag Ms. Douglas had bought her for Christmas. Not long after, the bell rang. She slowly lifted herself out of the chair and walked out into the hall.

"Did you hear?" she heard a girl ask her friend. Rae wasn't prone to eavesdropping, but she felt compelled to listen in, for some reason. She stopped at her locker, but still in hearing range.

"Hear what?" the girl's friend asked.

"You know the very east side of town, right? The ones with the Greasers?" Of course, it had to be something about her friends.

"Yeah, I know."

"There was a murder there last night!" Rae's eyes widened. _What?_

"Oh my!" the friend exclaimed. "Although, it's not really a surprise, is it? That side of town is just full of…those kinds of people." Rae gritted her teeth. How would they know? "Did they say the name of who was killed?"

"No, but the murderer was Johnny something…He had a friend with him with a really weird name." Rae dropped her books to the floor. People heard the loud noise that they made and turned to look at her, including the two girls.

"Ponyboy…?" Rae asked, quietly. The girls looked at her quizzically. "Was that the name?"

"Y-yes," the other girl said. "Yes, that was it. How did you-?" Rae picked up her books, stuffed them in her locker and walked off. Johnny, kill someone? There's no way that can be right… Rae left the school grounds as fast as she could and ran back to the Douglas house. No one would be home yet. She could call Darry and-

"Rae?" a voice asked. She looked across the street and saw Tim standing there. "You've heard?" She nodded.

"What happened?" she asked, rushing across to meet him.

"I'm not exactly sure. All I know is what I saw on the television. It looks like the Socs were drunk and came looking for a fight. They found the two boys and next thing they knew, they had killed the Soc and left town." Rae was dumbfounded. No way would the boys have done that… She knew Johnny always carried a blade after the soc beat him up, but to kill someone? Johnny? "They went to see Dally. He was at Buck's."

"I thought you said that Dally was in jail," she said, looking up at him, suddenly.

"So did I," he responded, then pointed to a bruise on his cheek. "He slashed my tires. I went looking for him and found the two who killed the Soc, Two-Bit, and two girls at the movies. I found Dally not long after and we got into a fight."

"I see. That sure sounds like Dally," she said, smiling.

"Yeah. I think I cracked a couple of his ribs, but otherwise he's fine. I didn't get a chance to tell him that I had talked to you before he disappeared. I'll probably go see him in a few days when he's had a chance to cool off." Rae nodded. "Anyway, you shouldn't be here. If the cops catch you-"

"Yeah," she said. "I know. I should get back to school."

"I'll walk you back, just in case. We can get something to eat on the way if you want, although, I don't really know this area very well."

"No, it's alright. If I was found with you I'd be in more trouble than I would be wandering alone. When you see Dally, tell him that I'll see him soon. Tell everyone else that I miss them, will you?" she asked her friend.

"Sure," he nodded. She waved to him and he ran off in the direction he came from. She sighed and turned back towards the way she came. She would give anything to go back with him. But, if she did the cops would find out and she would be taken out of state or something. She had to wait for the right time to leave. Rae hoped it would be soon. After seeing Tim she had an odd ache in her chest to see her friends.

***

Dally sat leisurely in his chair at the police station. He was in an interrogation room. The cop who had pulled him in was sitting in the chair across the table.

"Are we almost done here?" the blonde-headed punk asked. "I'm aching real bad for a cigarette." He smiled.

"I told you already, we'll let you go as soon as we find out if we know anything."

"A murder happens on the east end and you automatically assume I have something to do with it?" Dally asked the man across from him. "I just got out of jail. What makes you think I'd want to come back so soon?"

"Dallas, these kids are your friends. Add that on to your record," the cop started, staring his opponent down. "How can we not assume you have something to do with it?" Dally sighed. He sat forward in his seat and leaned his elbows against the table.

"Look," he said, staring the cop in the face. "I don't know for sure, alright? But, I heard whispers of them heading for Texas. That's all I got. I don't know anything else." The cop nodded.

"Fine," he said. "You're free to go." Dally stood up, smiling.

"Thank you, officer." The policeman stood as well and opened the door to the room the let the teenager out.

"Stay out of trouble, Dallas."

"Yeah, right," Dally said, laughing, and left the room. As soon as his face hit sunlight, he took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He turned his head to the side to see Two-Bit and Steve standing there. "Hey."

"Hey," Steve returned the greeting and nodded. "Darry asked us to come and make sure you were okay." The two newcomers seemed nervous. Dally suspected another reason for them being there.

"Out with it," Dally commanded. Steve and Two-Bit looked at each other.

"Darry also wanted to know if you really do know something about…what happened," Two-Bit confessed.

"Look, I don't know anything." Steve nodded.

"Alright, alright. I'm sure he just wanted to make sure. Let's get out of here," he said and started walking towards to Curtis house. Dally looked up at the sun and let the smoke out of his lungs. He wondered if his sister knew what was going on.


	34. Beginning of the End

(A/N: Hey, guys. I apologize again for not uploading in a long time. The drama llama has followed me all the way to college. Plus, I've been really busy working for classes. Studio classes take a lot out of me, hehe. The college is actually buying a piece of my artwork to display on campus. I'm so excited! Also, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. You get it by getting bitten by a deer tick and it makes you really tired. So, I've been trying to get as much rest as I can. But, I've had this chapter written for a long time. So, here it is!)

**Chapter 33**

The next week was long. It felt like an eternity to Rae. She wanted to know what was going on with Johnny and Ponyboy but the newspapers didn't help. All they basically said was that the two teens were white trash that killed the Soc for fun. Of course that was a lie. Those two were probably the most two gentle boys who lived on that side of town.

"Rae?" Bryon's voice brought her out of the long, hazy daydream she'd been in for the past few days. She blinked and looked over at him. "Are you good at Science at all?"

"I'm alright," she said with a shrug. "You need help with homework?" He nodded. She got up and followed him into the kitchen. "Okay, let me take a look." She sat down in the chair next to his paper and looked over it. "Oh, this is easy stuff. See look right-" Her sentence was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. "Hold on a minute." Rae stood up and went back into the front room to open the door. A familiar face came into her view. She'd been waiting for him to come back.

"Tim," she said, greeting him with a nod.

"They've been found," he said. She looked behind her to see Bryon staring out from the kitchen. So he wouldn't hear, she stepped outside and closed the screen door behind her.

"Where?"

"They were injured saving some kids in a rotting church down in Windrixville. Someone set it ablaze," Tim said, looking down at the ground. Rae's eyes widened in alarm.

"But…they're okay right?" Rae asked, letting off a nervous laugh. Tim didn't answer for a moment. "Right…?"

"That dark kid… Johnny, I think? He's hurt real bad, Rae. A falling beam fell on his back. They said in the papers that it was broken. Not many people survive a broken back…"

"Why…?" Rae asked herself and dropped into a porch chair. "I leave for a while and everything goes to hell."

"There's going to be a rumble in the next few days," Tim said, leaning up against the screen door. "I wish you could make it." Rae sat back in her chair, thinking.

"I can," she said, suddenly. Tim stood up straight, quickly.

"But-"

"Tim, does it really make sense? That I should be here and not have contact with my friends? Why does it matter if I'm here or on the other side of the state if I can't talk to them anyway?" she asked him, calmly. He relaxed a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I'll go get a few things," Rae said and stood up. She slid back inside the door. Bryon had moved back into the kitchen, still mulling over his homework. "Sorry, kid," she said as she passed. "I'll have to help you when I get back." She went back to her room and put a few changes of clothes in her backpack. Obviously, she didn't plan on coming back but they wouldn't know that until much later. Once she was done, Rae hoisted her backpack onto her back and left.

"You can stay at my place until the rumble. We don't want you getting caught at the Curtis house," Tim said as they started walking down the street, in the direction of his car.

"Just as long as you keep Angela away from me," Rae demanded, throwing her backpack in the back seat of his car. She dropped into the front seat.

"Don't worry about her. Curly had a good little talk with her after…what happened," Tim responded as Rae touched the sides of her face where Angel had but her. The car started and they were on their way.

The next morning, Rae was sitting on the couch and watching TV in the Shepard House. Angela sat on the other end, looking rather irritated. Tim walked into the room, without a shirt, and stretched. He let one hand fall on his sister's head. He patted it a couple times.

"Stop being a bitch," he said, then waved to Rae before disappeared into the kitchen for a beer.

"You're just as bad as Two-Bit!" Rae called into the other room.

"At least I can pass high school!" he called back. She smiled, for what seemed like the first time in weeks. She was back and it felt great, even if there was a sourpuss sitting next to her. She couldn't wait until the rumble. Everyone, except for Johnny, would be there. And she hadn't been in a fight since the last rumble. She sat back against the couch and sighed, happily. Before long, she heard the phone ring in the kitchen. "Hello?" Tim said as he answered it. "Oh! Hey. Yeah. Yes. Really? Two more weeks? Yeah, alright. Oh, wait. I have someone here who would like to talk to you." He poked his head out the door. "Rae, come here for a second." She pushed herself off the couch and moved into the kitchen. Tim handed her the phone. She held it up to her ear, confused.

"Hello?" she asked, wondering who was on the other end.

"Rae?" Curly's voice said through the phone.

"Curly!" she exclaimed, smiling. "How are you?"

"Well, you know how it goes in these places. But, I've been behaving this time so they said I can come home in two weeks. You?"

"Bored out of my mind! There's nothing to do at that foster home. I'm glad to be back, even if it is only for a couple of days."

"I can't wait to see you," he said. She could tell he was smiling on the other end.

"Same."

"Alright, Shepard," she heard someone say on Curly's end.

"Rae, I have to go. See you soon." She opened her mouth to say something, but he was gone before she could get it out. She put the phone back on the wall and turned to Tim, who was leaning against the refrigerator door. He was half-smiling. Suddenly, the phone rang again. Tim stood up and walked to it.

"Hello?" he said when he picked it up. "Tonight? Okay, see you there." He hung up. "Rumble is tonight." Rae nodded. She smiled again. "Won't the boys be in for a surprise"


	35. Nothing Left

(A/N: Another update! We're winding down to the end of the story now. I have the next chapter ready, so I'll probably post this and the next when I'm done typing it up!)

**Chapter 34**

The passing hours were excruciatingly slow for Rae. She wanted nothing more than to go see her friends. And Dally. She missed him. They have no idea she was coming. It was exciting for her. Finally, around seven, Tim came up to her and asked if she was ready. The rest of his outfit were waiting in the park down the road. They would meet up with them, then walk to the Curtis's lot. She stood up, off the couch, and grabbed her jean jacket.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," she said as she slipped the jacket on. They walked out the door together and down the street. The other boys were surprised to see her there, but nodded a greeting.

"Wheres Carrie, Tim?" one asked.

"Carrie?" Rae asked, looking up at her friend.

"Uh, yeah. Your friend," he replied, smiling. "She broke up with that scrawny kid and we hooked up after you left." He turned back to his friends. "She'll be with the others."

"Carrie, fighting in a rumble? That doesn't sound-"

"Don't worry. She's tough. I taught her a few things." Rae laughed.

"If you say so," she said. They all started the twenty or so minute walk down to the vacant lot outside the Curtis house. The whole walk, the boys in Tim's gang asked her questions about what happened and how her life was in the foster home. She was still telling stories when they got there. She stopped when she noticed where they were. Rae looked around the empty lot. No one.

"They'll be here," Tim said, smiling. She sat down on an abandoned tire. A few minutes later, there was a rumble in the distance. "Sounds like a storm."

"They're here," one of the boys says, pointing to the line of boys approaching. Rae couldn't help but smile as she stood up. Before long, she heard a gasp and then was suddenly pummeled back on to the tire. When she got up, she saw Carrie's overjoyed face.

"Well, Tim wasn't lying, at least," Rae said when her friend finally let her go. "You have beefed up a bit!" The two girls laughed. Tim helped Carrie up and off of the ground. It as then that she noticed all of the boys from her outfit standing around, staring. Two-Bit, for the first time was dead silent. His mouth, on the other hand, was wide open. All of the others were staring in disbelief as well. Soda broke the ice and pushed past his brothers to give her a big, tight bear hug.

"How have you been, kiddo?" he asked, not wanting to let go.

"Bored out of my mind without you guys," she answered as he finally let her go. Steve was next, followed by Two-Bit. "I knew I had to come back for this. For Johnny." She took another look around. "Where's Dally?"

Before anyone could answer, there were a series of loud honks coming from down the street. The Soc's were arriving. She heard Darry and Ponyboy mumbling further down.

"You stay close to me, kid." Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as the older brother approached a big guy in a letterman jacket. They talked for a few moments. And then she heard him.

"You know a rumble ain't a rumble without me!" Dally's voice said. But, she didn't have time to turn her head before someone tackled her. She fell to the ground and landed on her back. The air was knocked right out of her.

"Oh, god I'm out of shape," she said to herself. The Soc who had come after her was standing above her, smiling. She sat up and spun her legs around to trip him. She laughed as he hit the ground, hard. She stood up and felt wet, cold drops of water penetrate her jacket. She looked up at the sky. It had started raining. And, it was about to hit them hard. She leaned down to her still dazed Soc and punched him in the gut. "How's it feel to be beaten by a girl?" Rae asked, smiling. She kicked him in the side once more and moved on. This one got a hit in. That cheek would be bruised in the morning. He pushed her down into the mud.

"Slick, grease," he said as he leaned down to pick her up by the shirt. He had her off the ground and his hand pulled back to punch her again, but someone tackled him. She fell back into the mud. Rae turned her head to see her brother. But he hadn't noticed that it was her. Suddenly, a Soc ran past her. And another. She sat up in time to see them retreat.

"Well, that was fast," she mumbled and rubber her throbbing cheek with her muddy hand. Someone grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. She looked up to see Steve.

"Time to get back before the fuzz get here," he said. Rae nodded. She went to Tim to tell him she was going to the Curtis's. He nodded and she went to catch up with the other guys.

"Where did Dally go now?" she asked, frustrated. Steve patted her on the back.

"You know how Dally is. He'll be back soon," he answered her. She shrugged.

"Hey, Pony's gone too," Darry said, looking around at each of them. Not long after, they all reaced the house and started taking care of their wounds. Darry went and got a kitchen rag filled with ice for Rae's face. Steve and Soda started talking about each other's cuts.

"It makes you look different," Soda said. Thing went quiet after that. Two-Bit turned on the television to make some noise. All of the boys sat down and started to relax. But not Rae. She had an uneasy feeling boiling up inside her. About half an hour later, the door behind her creaked.

"Ponyboy!" Soda exclaimed. Rae sat up straight and turned to see him. He looked terrible. Bruises everywhere. And no Dally. His next words made everyone freeze.

"Johnny's dead. I don't know, he just died. Dally's gone. He couldn't take it. He's going to blow." The entire room was completely silent, except for the TV in the background.

"We have to find him," Rae said, her voice shaky. The phone rang, loudly, and she jumped from the sound. Steve, who was the closest to it, picked it up.

"Hello?" He waited for a few seconds. "No, it's Steve." Another pause. "Yeah, sure." He held the phone out to Darry. The older boy took the phone and held it up to his ear.

"Dally?" he asked. "We know. Of course." He hung up the phone and turned to his friends. "That was Dally. He's in trouble. We gotta hide him. He's in the park."

Raelee was the first one out the door. She took off down the street, closely followed by the rest of them. Soon, she fell behind. When they reached the park, they found Dally standing on top of a hill, cops all around him. There was a gun in his hand. Ponyboy, noticing this, raced up the street, screaming.

"It's not loaded!" The other boys followed suit. Rae stayed behind, stuck in her spot.

"No…," she whispered to herself. "Look at me." But he didn't. She knew he wouldn't in time.

"It's not loaded!" she heard them going on and on.

***

Dally could hear his friends screaming. He didn't care anymore. He held up his heater and pointed it towards the cops.

"Drop it!" one of them yelled.

What's the point? he thought. I've failed my sister and now I've lost my best friend. No, I won't put it down. I have nothing left to live for.


	36. A Bullet to the Heart

(A/N: This was by far the hardest thing I have EVER had to write. I was up this morning around 3am, about to go to bed. When I go to sleep, I usually put a movie in to listen to. I was looking through my DVD case and noticed I hadn't seen the Outsiders in a long time. So, I popped it in, turned off the light and laid down. Well, as you may know, I get the best ideas while watching the movie. So, of course, I had a great idea to add to my list of things to add. Except, the words kept coming so I decided to start writing the chapter instead. You should never leave unwritten words in your head or else they disappear :P. Want to know something funny? The DVD started messing up right after I wrote Rae's break…and the inspiration completely went away. Anyway, enjoy. –November 28, 2009. Current A/N will appear at the bottom this time.)

**Chapter 35**

"NO!" Raelee shrieked, even though she knew it was too late. She heard the gunshots and saw her brother drop to his hands and knees. "DALLY!" she screamed and took off towards her brother. She saw him look up at her and mouth her name.

"Rae…?" he said, staring at her. Time seemed to slow. He watched, in slow-motion, as his sister ran towards him, looking as if she were scared shitless. He tried to crawl to her. And then he felt it. He felt his eyes burn. He felt his chest tightening. He felt the sting of the bullets in his body. _What have I done?_ he asked himself. A tear ran down his face. The moment it hit his cheek, time sped up again. He grunted in pain and rolled over on to his back.

Rae's legs almost gave out on the way, and as soon as she reached her brother, his heart had almost stopped. She dropped down next to him. "Dally...," she started. "Dally, don't leave me." She saw him look up at her and he was gone. Rae stared at him in silence for a moment, and then started screaming. "NO!" she yelled at his dead body. "YOU PROMISED, DALLY!" She hit the hard pavement with both fists clenched. "You promised you would always be here for me…" She felt someone move close to her and lift her hands off the ground. "LET ME GO!" she shrieked, at the top of her lungs, and forced her hands away, from who she now knew was Steve, trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She looked up at him, her eyes blazing as dangerously as Dally's had when he was upset. Steve retreated for a moment, taken aback by her eyes. But, then he wiped his own tears from his eyes and grabbed her face. She tried to jerk away from him, but he held on tightly.

"No," he said. She tried again. "No, Rae." She was trying to look away. She couldn't face anyone now; she couldn't look at anyone in the eyes or else she would break. Dally would hate that. Dally would be disappointed if she broke. He was always telling her to suck it up and be a man, right? Right? "Rae, please." She heard Steve begging her to stop and look at him. Her chest was heaving. What should she do? If she looked at him, she would certainly cry. She wasn't supposed to but…

"Rae…" She felt strong arms warp around her waist and heard Soda's voice behind her. He hugged her tightly. "Rae, come back to us. Please." She felt her body shaking, hard. "It's okay to cry." She directed her blazing eyes towards Steve, who had a fresh batch of tears streaming down his face. He nodded. The hardness in her eyes went away and she felt the tears start flowing out, uncontrollably. Steve released her head, and she dropped into his chest. She grabbed on to his jean vest and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. Soda kept latched on to her waist as well, and not long after, she felt water soaking through the back of her shirt.

"Dally…," she sobbed, over and over again.

By then, all of the cops had since deserted the area, leaving the gang and the body alone. Most of the boys were frozen into place, staring at Dally, not believing what they had just seen. Rae kept Steve and Soda close to her, crying for over an hour. Two-Bit, on the other hand, stared down at Rae. He was distraught, just like the rest of them, but he knew that if they took Rae away again and put her in the system, it would only make her worse off than she was now. And he had an idea. He saw Steve and Soda stand up, pulling their friend with him. She was still crying, but not like before.

"Oh my god," said a voice behind them all. Two-Bit tore his eyes off of Rae to turn around. Tim was standing there, staring down at the body. Beside him was a wide-eyed Carrie.

"What-," Carrie started, but stopped suddenly when she saw her friend.

"We need to go," Darry said, finally out of his trance. "They'll be back to collect the body and take us all away."

"No…," Rae pleaded. "Don't make me leave him…" Soda let go of her and let Steve support her solely.

"I know you don't want to leave him, Rae. I know. But…" He looked over to her. He saw her look down at her brother's body, and then drop to the ground. Steve tried to catch her as she fainted, but didn't make it. He quickly scooped her up.

"Let's go," Two-Bit sighed. They all seemed rather reluctant, and passed by Dally's body slowly. By the time they had gotten back to the Curtis house, Rae had woken up and was crying into Steve's shirt again. He let her down on to the chair and went to get a box of band-aids to cover everyone's minor injuries. He stopped to look in the mirror of the bathroom. He didn't notice his newly chipped tooth as much as he noticed the tear stains on his dirty face. He was about as used to crying as much as Rae was, but he had never had anything to cry about. Not like Rae. He didn't know how to handle the death of someone close to him. Steve blinked out of his trance and grabbed the box of Mickey Mouse band-aids (courtesy of Two-Bit, of course) in the cabinet below the bathroom sink. When he went back out, Rae was curled in a ball, her face hidden in her arms. He knelt down in front of her.

"Hey, kiddo," he said softly. "I need to put a band-aid on that cut on your face." Slowly, she picked up her head, keeping her eyes averted from him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and still a bit wet, but she had ceased crying, at least for now. He cleaned up the cut on the side of her forehead, and had to use two band-aids to cover it up. He moved away from her once he was done and passed the box on to Darry. Steve sat down on the floor, next to Tim and Carrie. Both of their hands were on the floor, but his was on top of hers. As they all bandaged up their wounds, Rae came out of her ball a bit and had a look around the room. It felt weird. Dally and Johnny had always been there when everyone had gathered, especially after a rumble. Would it feel this way for the rest of her life? At this point, it sure seemed like it. She had started to come to the realization that they wouldn't ever be coming back to sit with them. To laugh with them. To make fun of them. Or, to be a family again. What would become of her? She heard someone put the phone down in the other room. Two-Bit walked into the room, for the first time in his life, grim-faced.

"Well," he announced to the entire room. "I've talked to my mother and she agreed to adopt Rae. So, as long as the judge agrees, she can stay here with us." If it had been under any other circumstance, everyone would be smiling and cheering. Instead, they all were silent. A few of them, like Darry, nodded in approval. But there were no smiles. Everyone was solemn. "We'll have to go to court for it, obviously. Mom says it's okay since my sister moved out of state after Bob's murder…" Rae nodded and looked away from her friend. She curled back up in to her human ball and stayed there for a long time.

There was a knock on the door and Rae jumped out of her light sleep. The room was dark. Someone had turned out the light. She looked down and saw the outline of her friends' sleeping bodies. All of them were still there, except for the brothers, who were in there own beds. The knock came again, but this time louder. Suddenly the light came on. She immediately hid her face, not used to the brightness. The people on the floor started to groan. When Rae could stand the lights, she moved her hands. Carrie had fallen asleep in Tim's lap, and he had his hand on her shoulders, his body was still in the same position it had been when she fell asleep. Two-Bit was stretched out on the couch and Steve now took up the rest of the front-room floor. Dally walked in to the door, still half asleep.

"Sorry, guys," he said and went to open the door. There was an officer standing there, shivering in the cold weather. "Yes?" The other man held out a piece of paper.

"Tomorrow you need to go to your lawyer's office to discuss your argument for keeping custody of your brothers," he said, then pointed at Rae. "And bring her." Darry glanced over at his friend and nodded.

"Thanks," he said. The police officer nodded. Darry closed the door and and took a look at the letter. After a minute, he looked around the room. Everyone was looking up at him with half-opened eyes. "Sorry. Go back to sleep." He walked back to his room, turning the light off on his way out. Rae turned sideways in the chair and hugged her knees so she would fit. She laid her head against the back of the chair. She remembered sitting in Dally's lap just like this only a few months prior. She shut her eyes, tightly, and pretended he was there, holding her.

(A/N: Ok guys. Like said before, this was so hard to write. I'm sorry to those of you who begged me not to kill Dally off. I really am. He's my favorite character and I would have loved to let him live. But, I wanted to make this as close to the real story as I could aside from having Rae there. And no, this isn't the last chapter I'll write for this story, but it is close to the last. I want to thank all of my readers who have stayed with me, even through my long break. And to my new readers. Thank you all so much for your support!)


	37. A Second Family

(A/N: I don't really have much to say today, just that I'm trying to finish this story up. I hate to leave you guys hanging like I always end up doing, so I'd rather finish it while I have the time than draw it out. Sorry about this chapter, though. I know it's pretty long and boring. But, it kind of had to be done. So, here it is!)

**Chapter 36**

The next morning, Rae was woken up with a nudge. She opened her eyes and looked up, sleepily. Darry stood there, half dressed.

"Sorry, Rae. I don't want to half to get you up but we have to get going soon," he said, looking regretful. She'd never seen him like that. She nodded and started to uncurl from her human ball. Her body was stiff from not moving all night and hurt as she got up. Darry walked back to his room. Rae looked around and saw everyone in the same place they had been the night before. Except for Two-Bit. He was nowhere to be found in the Curtis house. She went into the bathroom to clean up. Then, she remember the fight last night. She remember the mud and that her bruised cheek and the back of her clothes were covered in dried mud. She looked at her face more closely and saw where she had been crying. She imagined him. The entire scene replayed in her head.

"Dally…," she said, unable to hold back again. Unable to make him proud…

"Rae!" Soda exclaimed as he passed by the open bathroom door. She looked up at him. She hadn't noticed she had bent over the sink and hidden her face in her arms. He hurried in and helped her stand up again. "Hey, it'll all turn out alright, you hear?"

"How could it?" she asked. "The person who has taken care of me my entire life is now gone. My only family…" She looked back down at the sink.

"Don't you dare be like that. You know every single one of us in this house is just as much you family as Dally was." Rae was silent. Soda grabbed a washcloth that was hanging from the bar next to him. He we it in the sink and began wiping the dirt off her face. She winced. It hurt. Once he got it all off, he examined the bruise. "Wow, he slugged you good." He put the towel down and started to leave. "By the way, Tim brought your backpack in last night. It's by the front door."

"Thanks," she whispered as he left. She went out and grabbed her extra pair of jeans, a shirt, and went back to the bathroom to change.

Less than twenty minutes later, Darry, Soda, and Rae were in the Curtis's truck. After they dropped Soda off at the DX, the other two made their way to the police station. They found Two-Bit and his mother there, plus a lawyer who happened to represent both the Curtis brother and the Matthews family. An officer took Rae and the Matthews first.

"Here's the deal," he said as they sat down. "They've found your father in New York. Once he gets back here, you'll have to testify against him. There is a chance that he will be set free." Rae sat up, alarmed. "Without any evidence whatsoever, there's nothing we can do, really. You didn't get tested. You have no witnesses…"

"I do have a witness!" she almost yelled, angrily.

"You do?" he asked, puzzled. Rae relaxed a bit and nodded. "Who?"

"Darrel Curtis was there with D- with my brother," she answered. "He let me stay at his house that night."

"I see," the cop said. "Also, I understand that Mrs. Matthews would like to take you in as her foster child?"

"That is correct," Two-Bit's mother piped up.

"Alright. We'll set both hearings for the same day. In the meantime, in light of the circumstances, we'll allow you to stay with the Matthews. Normally, we wouldn't let this happen. But seeing as how…" He stopped without finishing his sentence. Rae nodded.

"Thank you," she said, quietly.

"Now, if you'll come with me," the cop said, standing. "You'll have to come identify your brother's body before we can release him." She stiffened.

"Officer, I don't think-" Two-Bit's mother started.

"No," Rae interrupted. "I'll do it." She stood up and followed the older man down to the morgue. He brought her to a windowed room. Inside was a table with a large white sheet covering up what she could only assume was Dally's body. She sucked in a deep breath as the officer opened the door.

"Is your name Raelee Angela Winston?" the officer asked as she followed him inside.

"Yes," she said and shivered. The room was freezing. He asked a few other questions about her age and her parents. Finally…

"Was your brother Dallas Winston?"

"Yes." He took a step closer to the white sheet and lifted it. He folded it over, just enough to expose the head and shoulders. And there he was. Dally's blonde hair. It's funny how her hair was so dark and his so light… She examined his face. It was paler than normal. But still handsome.

"Is this Dallas Winston?"

"Yes," Rae said trying to keep her voice from faltering. Her face started to get hot and she felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll…leave you alone for a few minutes if you would like." She nodded.

"Thank you," she said. "Could you bring Two- Keith down here?"

"Of course." He nodded and left. Rae put her hands on the side of the table. She peered down at her brother's face again.

"So, he we are," she started. "Why wouldn't you hold on for me? I mean, I know you loved Johnny. But, he was my friend too." She sighed and closed her eyes. A few tears dropped down her cheeks. "Damnit, Dally." More tears came down, faster. Some landed on her brother's face. "Look at what you're doing to me. I never cry. Just like you. I wanted to be like you so much." She looked up and laughed. "Now who do I look up to?" She stopped to wipe her tears. "I'm lost, Dally. I need you. I miss you. I love you." Suddenly, she felt anger rise inside of her. "Damnit, Dally!" she yelled and hit the metal tabletop with her fists. She felt a sharp sting in one hand. It hurt so bad, she pulled away and hissed in pain.

"Rae…" Two-Bit's voice said from behind her. She spun around, holding her hurt hand in the other. He walked closer to her and looked over at his friend's body. He pushed past Rae and covered Dally's head up again. "That's enough. We should go." Rae looked back down at the white sheet. She was so reluctant to leave. Instead of doing what her mind wanted to do, her head nodded in agreement. Two-Bit put an arm around her shoulders and walked her out of the room. The police officer led them back upstairs where Mrs. Matthews and her lawyer were talking dates with another man.

"That should work, thank you," the older woman said and stood up. She turned towards her son and Rae. "Ready?" They both nodded and left.

"See you later tonight," Two-Bit said to Darry as they passed. He nodded.

Not long later, the two were sitting on the couch in Two-Bit's room. He made Rae give him her hand to look at. Two of the knuckles of her right hand were already swelling up.

"The two fingers are most likely broken," he deduced. He stood up and grabbed a roll of medical tape off of his dresser. He threw it at her. "Tape them together and they should be alright as long as you don't do anything so drastic again." She nodded and began winding the tape around her ring finger and pinky. Two-Bit's mother poked her head in the room.

"Rae, I had your clothes and things brought over from your former foster house and your other home," she said, smiling.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Matthews. It means a lot," she said, trying to smile. She nodded and left the room.

"Don't worry about my mom," Two-Bit told her. "She knows that you're just like me." She looked up at him with a smirk. "Well, minus the booze."

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said, and the broke the tape off of the roll with her teeth. "Little innocent Rae started partying hard after she got taken again…" He smiled a bit.

"Well, anyway," he started. "She knows we'll be out more than in."

"Let's go then," Rae said. "I don't want to be stuck here, thinking about one thing." Two-Bit nodded.

"Good idea." He led her out of the room and closed to door behind him.


	38. New Beginnings

(A/N: Okay guys, this is it. I didn't actually plan on making this the last chapter of the story but, I really didn't have anything else to write. I hope you guys like it. It made me tear up a bit because it reminded me of a funeral I went to for my friend who died at 15, and because it's the end of the story and it's like Rae is a part of me now. This is by far the best piece of work I have ever done and I'm very proud of it. Thank you, everyone, who's read and stayed with it from the beginning. Anna, and Jay especially. And thank you to all my new reviewers. You all mean a lot to me and have really kept my writing it. As for sequels, I plan on writing a few one-shots, most likely. One of my reviewers actually gave me a good idea. Thank you all! ^^)

**Chapter 37**

A week later, Rae found herself sitting in the Court House on the Soc side of town. She was stuck in a dress Two-Bit's mother, who insisted on her calling her 'mom', had taken her out to get it so she would have something to wear for the hearings and the funeral.

"Is it true that you drink, Mr. Winston?" their attorney asked.

"Yes, sir," he answered. "But I would never hurt my little girl. She and Dallas were all I had left when my wife died." Rae's face grew red with anger. Her fists clenched without her realizing. Curly, who had been let out a week early for Dally's funeral sat next to her. He noticed her fists and her face. He reached over and took her broken hand in his.

"Calm down or you'll re-break it," he whispered. "I'm sure they'll put him away." She sighed and nodded. Her face and hands relaxed.

"I call to the stand Raelee Winston." She sucked in a breath and stood up. Once she was beyond the first row of people, her lawyer escorted her to the stand. A police officer came up with a black bible. Once he swore her in, the interrogation started.

"What happened to you on that cold night at the end of September?" she was asked. Rae relived the night through her words.

"I was running away that night," she started, her eyes going cloudy, remembering.

"Running away? Why?"

"My father used to abuse Dally and I when we were home and he was drunk. Ever since we were little kids. I had to leave. His beatings were getting worse as I grew older. Dally learned to stay away as much as he could. But, being a high school student it was hard for me. My sources are more limited than his."

"I understand," the man said. "Continue."

"Well, I was standing outside of our house. I was about to leave when I heard my father come out of the house." She grimaced. She felt his hand on her shoulder; his fingernails digging into her skin. She shivered. "He was drinking a beer. When I wouldn't come back inside so he could beat me, he came after me. He threw his beer glass on the ground and it shattered. He tore the backpack off my back and tossed it away. I tried to go get it. It had my switchblade in it." She paused for a few moments. "Then, he threw me to the ground. I tried to fight him off but he hit me in the head. Everything was fuzzy for a long time but I remember being really cold and my abdomen was hurting really bad. When I woke up, I was naked. Dally was there, supporting me, and Darry was there too."

"Dallas Winston and Darrel Curtis?"

"Yes, that's right," Rae said, nodded. Her lawyer sat down and her father's stood up.

"Did you get tested?"

"No, I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I wanted to stay with my brother and my friends. I was scared I'd be taken away if I told anyone. Except my friends. They all knew." After more questions, they called Darry up to testify that he had indeed been there and what he had seen. When they were done with him, they called up a doctor who had examined Rae earlier in the week. He testified that her hymen had been torn previously and no evidence of her having sex with anyone recently. Not long later, when the jury had come to a decision, Rae had started sweating. She grabbed on to Curly's hand and held it tightly. Steve, who was on her other side, took her other hand. She felt her stomach start to turn, nervously.

"We find the defendant, Jason Allen Winston, guilty of that charges against him. His sentence will be made and carried out at a later date," one of the men said. The judge then started talking.

"Custody of Raelee Angela Winston will be given to Marsha Matthews." Before Rae could even heave a sigh of relief, she felt a ton of boys basically pile on top of her. They were all hugging her. When they released her, she found Curly in the crowd of friends and kissed him, hard. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Alright guys," Mrs. Matthew's said, breaking them all up. "We have to get out of here before they kick of out." They all agreed and said their goodbyes.

"See you tomorrow, Rae," Curly said, hugging her.

"Wear something night, huh? For my sake, at least." Rae's smile had long disappeared when she thought about the next day. She was dreading it.

"Of course," he said and went to go find his brother.

The next day, it rained. It seemed rather ironic. There was a tent put out over the grave site and Dally and Johnny were to be buried. Rae got out of her car and was misted by the rain before she reached the tent. She, Curly, and the Matthews were the first to arrive. The others arrived shortly after. There weren't many people there. The usual gang had showed up, of course. The Shepard brothers and some of their outfit. Buck and Carrie. Even Dally's high school buddy Eric and a red-headed Soc named Cherry was there. She didn't even know Dally had any Soc friends. Rae walked up to her brother's casket and laid a rose on top of it.

"Dally," she started. "I know you can hear me. Please watch over me and all of our friends." She sighed. "I'll miss you." She started down at the dark wood of the casket, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I promise I'll made you proud of me. I promise I'll come visit you a lot." The tears started falling down her cheeks. "I love you, big brother." Before long, she felt someone grab her hand. She could tell it was Curly without even looking up.

"I'm sorry, Rae, but it's time," he said, softly. She felt like crying harder. It was so difficult to leave. She loved her brother with all her heart. She knew she had to do it but…

"It's alright, Rae," Ponyboy said, behind her. She turned slightly to see all of her friends standing together. "We're all here for you." She smiled at them and burst out into sobs.

"Thank you," she cried. "Thank you guys so much. You mean so much to me." A few seconds later, she wiped her eye and smiled again. "Let's go." As soon as they walked out of the tent that was protecting them from the rain, the wind blew it all away. All of the sudden, the sun was shining bright.

***

Three years later, Rae walked into the cemetery where Dally and Johnny were buried next to each other. Her red-brown hair was longer, and curled slightly at the bottom. It was clean. Not a drop of grease was in it, just as he had worn. She was still wearing the same old thing. A pair of jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, and of course her jean jacket. There were grass stains on it and a slight bruise forming on her cheek. She smiled when she reached her brother's grave. Of course, she had been here many times but this time it was different.

"Hey, Dally. Sorry for the appearance. We just had a rumble yesterday," she said, setting down some roses on his grave. "I know, I know. You don't like roses but that's all I could get." She stared down at the stone. _Here lies Dallas Winston…Devoted brother and friend._ Her eyes clouded over for a moment, but returned to normal in no time. She had never really gotten over his death. "I have something amazing to tell you, Dally," Rae said, smiling again. "Well, more than one thing, I guess. Remember how I told you I was taking a year off after graduation so I could build up some money for college? Well, that year is over now and I got in!" She squealed in excitement. "Ponyboy, Two-Bit, Curly, and I are all going to the University of Oklahoma. Yeah, Two-Bit finally graduate high school. Amazing, isn't it?" She looked up at the sun for a moment, then back down. "And," she continued, holding out her left hand to the gravestone. There was a ring with a small rock sitting on it. "Curly proposed! He doesn't want to get married for another year at least, though."

Rae paused, her smile fading. "You know what I want to do with my life, Dally? I want to become a psychiatrist. I want to help kids who have lost someone close to them." She dropped to her knees. "But, I'm scared. How can I face someone else's problems when I can't even get over your death?" She looked down at the grass. "It's never been the same without you. I still have those nightmares I had after you first died. And what will happen to everyone else when I leave? I miss you Dally…" She looked back at the stone. "Don't look at me like that. I'll still come visit as often as I can." Rae stood up. "Oh, Cherry Valance told me to tell you 'hi' for her. She's back in town for her spring break but isn't able to make it out here." She looked back and saw Two-Bit's beat up car pull up just outside the cemetery.

"Well," she said, turned back. "Two-Bit's waiting for me, so I gotta get going. Keep watching over us. We miss you." She smiled again. "I hope I'm making you proud, big brother. I love you." With that, she went off to meet her friend.

"Ready?" he asked as Rae got in and closed to door. She nodded with another smile of her face.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Let's go."


End file.
